Not What It Seems
by Miraculous Fanatic
Summary: She gave him up. She pushed the two to be together. So why is she pretending to be fine, when in reality she's dying inside? Why does her best friend push her to date someone else? Why did she ever give him up? (Why did Maya force Lucas and Riley together, when she knows she still wants him?) Lucaya AU.
1. Chapter 1

**PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

 **AN/1: This is events a few years into highschool and this is as if Ski Lodge NEVER happened, but Rucas still decided to date.**

 **AN/2: Okay, it's my first GMW fanfiction. I love the characters, but if I make them seem OOC (especially Farkle ) then you guys can give me some critique on how I can make them seem more like the actual characters (I feel like I'm gonna suck writing Farkle). It's a Lucaya and Riarkle fanfiction, but it starts out with Rucas and Smarkle (because every ship deserves a chance).**

 **Rated T for language and themes.**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Maya, wake up! You're going to be late!" Katy yelled from down the hall.

Maya groaned, burying her head into her pillow. "Five more minutes," she mumbled, drifting to sleep once more.

The blonde could hear her mother stomp from down the hall, and knock on her door, yelling at her to get up. When Maya didn't respond, Katy tried opening the door, only to realize that it was locked. Maya smiled as she heard her mom bang on the door once more. She knew her mom was going to force her to be up early for her first day of her junior year, so she locked the door on purpose not to be disturbed.

"Riley and the others will be here soon, so you better get your lazy butt up and get ready! Don't make me break down this door!"

Maya snorted as she got up and threw off her covers. She knew that her mother would never have the guts to break down the door, because that meant explaining to Shawn how the door was broken down in the first place, and having to buy a new one. And they both know that they don't have the time or the money to buy a new door, as ridiculous as it sounds.

Maya opened the door, and cocked her hip while Katy gave her the stink eye. "I'm up, I'm up. No need to get your panties in a twist," Maya walked past her mom to get to the bathroom.

"The only panties that will be twisted are yours if you don't hurry up and get ready!" Katy shouted after her, while Maya just waved her off with an evil smile.

That was pretty much their relationship. Katy would yell at Maya, Maya would say something sarcastic and inappropriate, Katy would use the joke as a threat, and at the end of the day they would share a laugh at their ridiculousness and go buy ice cream or something.

Ever since Maya's dad Kermit left, Katy wasn't really there. Maya constantly depended on the Matthews to take care of her most of the time. But when sophomore year came around, Katy seemed to be there more and more, and Maya couldn't be happier. After all, who was she going to make inappropriate jokes with besides Zay? Riley was way too innocent to make those kinds of jokes with, especially since her father keeps pulling her out of Sex Ed. Farkle would turn it into something boring, and Smackle would probably find a way to direct it to her and Lucas, much to his chagrin and everyone's amusement.

Maya came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her head and body when there was a knock on her door. Katy sighed as she shooed Maya into her bedroom, "See? This is why you need to get up earlier for school. Now everyone is here, and I'm pretty sure no one wants to see you naked."

"Their loss, _I_ would enjoy this body." Maya smirked while she flipped her hair and closed her door. Katy rolled her eyes as she opened their apartment door, which revealed a beaming Riley and the rest of their gang. Riley marched into their living room, looking around for the blonde in question.

"Where's Peaches? I want to see my Peaches, where's Peaches?" Riley whined, turning back to Katy.

"Hello to you too, Riley," Katy smiled while Riley grinned sheepishly and hugged the older blonde. "She's getting ready so expect her in a few more minutes. Would you guys like anything to drink?"

"Yeah, some bleach would be nice this morning," Zay joked. "I can't believe summer is over and we have to go back to hell."

"Come on, Zay. School isn't that bad, stop being so over dramatic," Lucas rolled his eyes.

"After all, education is the foundation of our lives," Farkle added, "Without an education, how would you be able to succeed in life?"

"Duh. Win the lottery," Zay rolled his eyes. "Sure, the chances of me winning are small, but go big or go home, amiright?"

Maya came out of her bedroom barefooted, as she searched for something. Riley dropped her bookbag on the floor and cheered. "PEACHES!" She jumped on Maya's back, which caused the blonde to fall down flat on her face with an " _oof_ ," and Riley right on top of her.

"Riley, get off me. You're crushing my back." Maya said irritated.

"Heh, sorry." Riley got off her best friend and lent her a hand, pulling Maya off the floor. "Can you believe it? We're finally in our junior year, the best year of our lives!"

"That's what you said last year, Riley." Lucas said with a raised eyebrow.

"I always thought that senior year was the best year of our lives," Smackle added, running her fingers through her glossy hair.

"Every year will be the best year of our lives, because I have you guys by my side." Riley hugged Maya close. "With friends like you guys, I don't have to worry about a thing."

"Aw, honey, you're getting all sappy again." Maya smiled sweetly.

But Maya knew that Riley was right. Ever since she met her best friend in the bay window, every day was like a new adventure for them. Then four more entered their circle, and they've been super close ever since. Sure they've had their ups and downs, but their friendship has always prevailed no matter what happened, whether it was a love triangle, or a ridiculous argument. Maya couldn't have asked for better friends.

She had all she needed: the joker, the moral compass, the optimistic sunshine, the geniuses, the rebel. If that's not a diverse group of friends, then what is?

"You guys are a bunch of big saps," Katy commented as she entered the room with the shoes Maya was looking for a minute ago. "Y'all better leave before you kill me with your sappiness."

Maya threw on her new flats, and grabbed her bag off the couch. "Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Mom."

"Aren't you going to eat before you leave?"

"I bought donuts for us to eat, Mrs. Hunter," Lucas assured her. "You don't have to worry about a thing."

"Thank you, Lucas. Have fun at school guys!" Katy waved as Maya and her friends stepped out into the apartment hallway.

"Bye, Mom! Love ya!"

* * *

Farkle practically dropped to his knees and kissed the school grounds, "Oh sweet school, how I've missed you so!"

"Ew, Farkle, the floor is dirty." Riley made a disgusted face.

"I know, but how could you not miss a place like school. It's like a second home for 180 days of the year," he beamed as he stood up.

"Yeah, it's another year that I get to make fun of Heehaw, too." Maya grinned, nudging Lucas with her elbow.

"You make fun of me every day." Lucas deadpanned, sidestepping away from her.

"Even better!" Maya laughed, and Lucas couldn't help but smile.

Zay shook his head, still eating his donuts. "Shouldn't we pick up our schedules and see which classes we have together?"

"I doubt we're going to have that many classes together," Riley frowned. "Farkle and Smackle chose all the AP courses this year. I only chose like two."

"Riley, come on, it can't be that bad." Maya rolled her eyes as she went on the line to pick up her schedule.

"Maya's right, Riley. I'm sure there's nothing to be afraid of." Lucas reassured her and Riley nodded with an unusually large grin on her face.

Maya rolled her eyes at their sappiness. Lucas and Riley have been dating for a while now (one year to be exact), and it's like things have never changed between them. Riley still acts like her goofy self from seventh grade around him, smiling almost always too brightly and blushing ninety percent of the time. Lucas always gives her these reassuring smiles and cute little hugs and all the mushy stuff.

Maya didn't mind not having a boyfriend. As long as Riley was happy, she was happy. And she wanted nothing more than to see Riley be happy. Her happiness came before Maya's after all. She wouldn't change that for the world.

Besides, Maya's pretty sure that even though they seem like that cute adorable couple, they're like freaks in the sheets. Speaking of which…

"Have you two done it yet?" Maya asked.

"Done what?" Riley said, randomly poking Lucas' stomach.

"You know, the monster mash, the no-pants dance, butter the biscuit, hot yoga?" When neither of them caught on to what she was getting at, she sighed. "Have you two banged yet or what?"

Zay coughed on his last donut, whereas Smackle and Farkle's eyes widened. Riley and Lucas grew beet red in a second.

"M-Maya! That was so random and totes inappropriate!" Riley shouted, appalled.

"You're not denying it~" Maya said in a sing-song tone, biting her lip. "I bet you guys are like freaks in bed."

Zay waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Yeah Lucas, I even bought you all those condoms a few weeks ago."

"ZAY!" Lucas put a finger to his lips.

"You have _condoms_?!" Riley was on the verge of fainting.

"I don't even want them!" Lucas raised his hands defensively, "Zay just came over one day and dumped several boxes of them on my bed! I swear I didn't buy them!"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't think I should!"

"Lucas, that's not an excuse! You should have told me about this!"

"Oh yeah, Riley, because _that_ wouldn't be awkward at all. 'Oh, hey Riles, Zay just came over and dumped a load of condoms on my bed, now I don't know what to do with them!'"

The entire student body was dead silent and Lucas and Riley both wished that they were invisible at this point. Lucas covered his face in shame and Riley hid her face behind her hair. Maya and Zay were both trying so hard to contain their laughter, and Farkle and Smackle stood off to the side, pretending they had nothing to do with them.

"…so you two haven't had sex yet?" Maya asked.

Riley and Lucas slowly turned their heads towards her, both with narrowed eyes and a scowl on their faces. Maya faced the other way and picked up her schedule and walked as far as she could from the raging couple.

* * *

"Okay, so the only classes we have altogether are art, history, lunch, and math?" Lucas asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement, pretty happy about the arrangements that they have. Those four classes were the only classes they had together as the six friends. But besides those courses, they either had a class with someone else or just by themselves, except Farkle and Smackle, who had the same exact schedule.

Riley held onto Maya, "No! I don't want to leave Peaches! We've been together since birth!"

"First grade," Maya laughed. "And we haven't had the same schedule for a few years now, so you should be over it by now."

"I know, but it's like they're cutting off my oxygen supply. I need my Hart to live!" Riley grinned at her pun.

Maya patted the tall girl's head, "Har har, very funny, Riles. Come on, at least we have first period together. History with your father, remember him?"

"Who?"

Maya laughed as they walked towards their history class, nostalgia hitting them for the fifth year in a row. Mr. Matthews was writing something on the board. Cory turns around and throws his hands up in the air when he sees the same students he's had in his class for so many years.

"Jesus Christ, how long must I put up with you kids?!"

"Until you get sick of us, sir," Lucas replied.

"Who says I'm not already sick of you people?" Cory sighed, "Well, since this is obviously the same group of kids for the past couple of years now, I'm going to skip the introductions and get right into the lesson."

The kids groaned and Cory mimicked them. "Yeah, yeah, complain all you want, but this is happening." He looked at the six friends and raised an eyebrow at their seating arrangements.

Maya was sitting behind Lucas, and Riley sat in front of him. In the next row, Zay sat behind Farkle who sat behind Smackle.

"Change." Cory started. "I know I've probably taught this lesson a hundred thousand times already, but we just don't get enough of it. Everything around us changes; people change, our environment change, our lives change…"

* * *

"Why does your dad teach the same lecture over and over again every year?" Maya asked.

Riley shrugged, opening up her lunch bag and taking out the contents. "I don't know. It's like he feels as though he has to, otherwise we would never really understand it."

"Yeah, but he says the same lecture about change almost every year. I just want to…change that." Maya's blue eyes brightened when she said that, "Ha, see what I did there?"

Riley chuckled, "Maya, it's not like he talks about change all the time. It's only when he feels like something big is going to happen to us."

"Yeah, like if Zay will finally get a girlfriend." Farkle joked.

Zay rolled his eyes, "I think I like being the flirt of the group, thank you very much. What about Maya? She's not seeing anyone, and no one pressures her into dating."

Maya rolled her eyes, "I'm not interested in going out with anyone at the moment. Besides, dating is not exactly my forte."

"But you're Maya! The rebel, the badass, the Blonde Beauty," Maya and Lucas fought the blush coming onto their faces. "Who wouldn't want to date you? Come on, what was the last date you went on?"

Maya thought back, "I guess it was two months ago with…Brandon? The rebel? It was a fun date, but he didn't say much and we both knew that it was only going to be one date anyway. No hard feelings."

"Two months ago?" Riley was kind of shocked, "Maya, the last time I went on a date was much more recent than that!"

"That's because you're dating, honey." Maya gestured to the Texan sitting right next to Riley.

"Oh, yeah. It feels like a dream sometimes," Riley giggled.

"As you tell me everyday, Riles," Maya gave a tight-lipped smile.

"Aw don't worry, Shortstack," Lucas smiled. "I'm sure you'll find the perfect guy soon."

Maya made a face at the nickname, "Whatever, Huckleberry. You guys know how I feel about change. It's not a good feeling either. I just hate how everything that we know of will change at some point in our lives. Why can't everything just stay the same?"

"If everything stayed the same, the world would be a dull place," Smackle pointed out. "Change, good or bad, happens all the time. It's nothing to worry about."

Maya frowned and looked at her food, which hasn't been touched. "That's what I'm afraid of," she whispered.

No one seemed to hear her.

* * *

Ever since Maya's mom married Shawn Hunter, their family has been living almost exactly like Riley's. The only difference was that Shawn wasn't Maya's real father, but she still loved him regardless. They moved out of their crappy old apartment into a small condo, with wide space and two bedrooms. Maya wasn't sure if they were planning on having kids in the future, but she figured by the time they did she would already have moved out.

When Maya got home, the first thing she did was take a nap. Since it was the first day of school, she didn't necessarily have any real assignments other than to have her mom sign a couple of forms from the teachers. She threw the contracts onto the kitchen counter and face-planted onto the couch and tried to take a long nap.

Not even a half hour later, there was a frantic knocking on her door, and Maya chose to ignore it at first. But then it came to the point where the person wouldn't stop knocking, and it forced Maya to get up and stomp to the door and pull it wide open. She was about to yell at the visitor when she realized it was Riley, and the brunette did not look happy.

Riley stormed into the room and sat on the couch, a very scared look on her face. Maya, confused, sat next to her best friend and stared at the side of her face. When Riley didn't respond to that, Maya inquired that the situation could be serious.

"Honey, what's wrong? You don't seem to care that I'm staring at you like a hawk." She joked.

Riley turned to Maya, her scared look turning serious. "Maya, I'm scared."

Maya raised an eyebrow, "Of?"

"I'm scared of my relationship with Lucas."

Maya rolled her eyes. Not this again. "Riley, for the last time, Ranger Rick is harmless. What could he have possibly done to make you scared of him?"

"He has condoms, Maya. Condoms! I'm not ready to take that step, and it's way too early in the relationship to even think about stuff like this."

Maya shook her head and gave an amused chuckle, much to Riley's annoyance. "Oh my God, Riles. A lot guys have condoms, it's not something to be afraid of. Hell, I bet even Farkle has condoms just for 'science.' And you heard Lucas; Zay gave him those condoms, he didn't expect them and he didn't want them-"

"But he still _has_ them! If he still has them, obviously that means he might want us to do the…monster mash, or hot yoga, or whatever!" Riley huffed, shaking her head. "I don't want that. I don't want to rush things."

"You guys have been dating for a year, if you guys love each other so much, this shouldn't be such a big deal. Sure, you're not married or anything, but it would mean something, right?"

Riley bit her lip, and averted Maya's gaze. Maya sighed, "Okay, what now?"

"He hasn't told me he loves me yet…" Riley said.

"…what?"

"I've told him that I love him about a thousand times!"

"And?!"

"And…all he does is smile at me and kiss me. And it hurts to know that he doesn't say it back, but I pretend it doesn't matter and I just smile back." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Maya wiped Riley's tear away and hugged her. That's weird; the two have been dating for a year and Maya has seen them nothing but happy. But she guesses that there wasn't happiness on both sides of the relationship; Lucas doesn't say that he loves Riley, and Riley is tired of pretending that she's okay with it.

She loved them both, but Riley's happiness overpowers everything, hands down. Maya couldn't bear to see her best friend cry over a boy, no matter what happened between them. The Riley Committee was created to protect her best friend, and that's exactly what Maya was going to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, I was not expecting so many follows on the first day, I thought it would take some time, to be honest. Also, to those reviews that I read: don't worry. I don't want to rush the Lucaya in just yet, some things have to take place before they realize they're meant for each other (just like in the show).**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!**

* * *

Chapter 2

"Hey! Huckleberry!" Maya shouted, approaching the Texan angrily.

Lucas closed his locker, confused as to why Maya was walking towards him like he had done something wrong. Riley was next to him, and she knew exactly what Maya was about to do. Maya stopped right in front of him, and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to eye level.

"How dare you hurt Riley like that?" She growled, "She is hurting so much right now, and it's because of you."

"Maya, don't," Riley pleaded.

"What are you talking about? I would never-"

"Save it, Ranger Rick. Three words, three simple words, she says them to you all the time and all you can do is smile? What's wrong with you?"

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Lucas' eyebrows furrowed, clearly lost on the entire subject.

Maya let go of his collar and he straightened, folding his arms and expecting an answer from Maya's craziness. The blonde ran a hand through her hair as she sighed, a hand on her hip as though she thought Lucas would catch on by now.

"Are you dense? Riley tells you that she loves you all the time, and all you can do is smile and kiss her, as if she doesn't expect you to say that you love her back. Do you know how much that sucks for her? I've never told anyone that I love them, so I wouldn't know how she feels. But she came running to me yesterday, because you never say that you love her. Why is that, huh? Why don't you say that?!"

Lucas didn't reply, but Maya could see his expression soften, as if he didn't realize what he was doing had hurt anyone. Maya's angry look softened as well, and she turned to Riley. "Do you love him, Riles?"

Riley nodded, stepping closer to the two and wrapping her hands around Lucas' arm, "I do love him."

Maya looked at Lucas, "Do you love Riley?"

Lucas stared back at Maya, mouth somewhat agape, and then looked at Riley, who was clutching his arm tightly. Maya thought she almost saw a flash of regret run through his eyes, but it was gone before she could even think about it. Lucas smiled and looked back at his girlfriend, who stared at him with a pleading look. "I do. I love you, Riley."

Riley squealed and jumped, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a deep kiss. Maya smiled at the happy couple, not noticing the other three comrades come behind her. "My job here is done."

"And what exactly would that job be?" Zay said, kind of disgusted with the two kissing in the middle of the half-empty hallway.

"Lucas never told Riley that he loved her until now." Maya shrugged as the couple pulled away.

"What?! You never told her that you loved her?! What's wrong with you?" Farkle yelled, punching Lucas' arm and then immediately recoiling in pain.

"I just…I…I don't really know why I never told her that I've loved her before," Lucas admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I genuinely have no idea why."

"Yeah, well I hope you figure it out soon." Farkle said, holding his fist in pain.

"Wait, so saying 'I love you' to someone will automatically get you kissed?" Zay asked, hopeful.

The gang rolled their eyes and laughed at Zay, who was too busy looking for a girl- possibly a cheerleader- to say "I love you" to.

* * *

"Say it again," Riley said, sitting next to her boyfriend on the couch.

"Riley, I already told you like twenty times," Lucas laughed.

"Say it again! Say it in French!"

"Je t'aime, Riley." Lucas said, kissing Riley softly on the lips.

"You guys make me sick," Maya rolled her eyes at the sappy couple, but she couldn't help but smile at them. It was nice to see the two be happy with each other once again. She glanced at Farkle and Smackle, who were sitting the living room bay window of Riley's apartment, equally in love.

Zay sat on the floor next to the chair Maya was sitting in, and all he could do was shake his head in disgust. "Man, it's like a love fest in here. I did _not_ sign up for this."

Maya chuckled as she glanced at the two happy couples, "Yeah, well, this is what we get for being single and having friends in relationships. It's like we're a third-wheel. Except we're not at the same time."

Zay sighed, "I mean, what does Lucas and Farkle have that I don't have?"

Maya thought for a moment, "Lucas has the face and the body of a god, and Farkle has the intelligence of all the famous scientists around the world?"

Zay pouted, "I meant other than that…"

Maya continued, "They're both super sweet, charming, caring, and would do anything to keep their relationships with their friends and girlfriends?"

Zay huffed as he turned to face Maya, "I have humor! I'm the funny guy, don't girls love funny guys?"

Maya laughed as she ruffled Zay's hair, "Yeah, but I think your 'flirting game' comes on a bit too strong. You need to be subtle, but not too subtle. Be charming, but don't make the girl think you're only doing it to get into her pants or something."

Zay made a face at that, "Sounds like a lot of work. I'm pretty sure Lucas and Farkle didn't have to do any of that stuff."

"They didn't."

"Then how come I have to do the work? I want stuff handed to me on a silver platter, too!"

"We can't always get what we want in this world, Zay." Maya sighed, "No matter how much we want it."

Zay heard the odd tone in Maya's voice, but before he could even question what she meant by it, Riley shot up from her spot and went to the cabinet in the kitchen. "Who's up for popcorn and a movie?"

"I'm down for a movie," Lucas replied. "As long as it's not a documentary."

Smackle and Farkle's hands for a movie suggestion went down immediately, a frown evident on their faces. Maya and Zay laughed at their ridiculousness.

"OOH! Let's watch Twilight! I love that movie so much!" Riley said, waiting for the popcorn in the microwave.

"Twilight? As in the one with the two attractive unrealistic lifeforms fighting over a human girl," Farkle made a face. "That Twilight with the whole 'love triangle' ordeal?"

"Sounds familiar…" Zay said, earning a glare from Lucas and the two best friends.

"No wonder you're single," Maya joked.

Riley filled the popcorn into a large bowl and plopped onto the couch next to Lucas, and set the popcorn down on the coffee table. Then she turned on the television and went On Demand and selected Twilight. Maya sat next to Lucas on the couch, and Zay, Smackle, and Farkle sat on the floor, already digging into the popcorn.

* * *

As the movie progressed, Maya started to grow sleepy. She's seen the movie about a thousand times with Riley, so she knows exactly what happens from start to finish. She was pretty bored and her phone was dead, so she wasn't interested in staying awake to rewatch the same boring scenes again. Her eyes opened and closed shut, as she struggled to stay awake.

"Tired?" A certain cowboy asked.

Maya looked at Lucas and nodded. "I've seen this movie a thousand times, so it gets pretty boring after a while," she shrugged, yawning.

She looked around and saw that even the three on the floor were bored out of their minds, and even on their phones checking their social media. Riley was completely invested in the movie, reaching into the bottom of the bowl only to realize there was no more popcorn, and she got up to make some more.

Lucas gave a breathless laugh, "Yeah, I guess I see what you mean."

Maya gave a half-hearted smile and they returned their attentions to the screen. She frowned as something came into her mind. She thought about how happy Lucas and Riley were now that they were dating after years of being just friends. She thought about how natural Farkle and Smackle's relationship was, and how it wasn't forced or anything. She even thought about Zay and herself, on the many dates that they've been on but they've never been quite happy with any of their dates because they've longed for something more.

"Do you think…I'll end up alone?" She whispered quietly, hoping Lucas wouldn't catch it. But he did, and gave Maya a confused look.

"What?"

Maya knew how her life went. She stepped back for Riley because Riley deserved to be happy. Because Maya knew that even an ounce of happiness in her life could fade away in an instant. That's why she backed away from the triangle, because she knew how much Riley loved Lucas. Maya felt as though she was the cause of the triangle, even though Lucas had developed feelings for her after the whole Texas incident.

She'll admit it: she still likes Lucas. She pretends that she's fine, that they're better off just being friends, even though in the beginning it was tearing her up inside. But she didn't want to ruin her relationship with Riley, and she knew Riley liked him beforehand, so she gave him up. She felt as though she didn't deserve him, as crazy as that sounds. But her crush for him has been slowly dying away, and she hopes that it would disappear soon.

Maya saw her heartbroken her mother was when her father walked out on them. She thought her mother would never be able to love again, and no matter how many dates she went on, she always seemed to drive the men away. Even after her mom married Shawn, she was afraid that her mother might drive him away like she did with her father.

Maya didn't want to be like her mother. She didn't want to drive people away. She didn't want to be in love with someone who will only walk out on her and she would never see them again. But Maya was also scared that if she never loved anyone, she would be alone forever, and that she would become some crazy cat lady or something.

"Forget it, it's stupid." Maya fiddled with the hem of her shirt, avoiding his confronting gaze.

"No, it's not stupid. Maya…you think you're going to end up alone?" Lucas asked, and Maya could hear the sympathy in his voice, wishing she had never brought it up.

"I just know that one day, everyone that I know and love will leave me, and I'll be by myself." Maya shrugged, "Or that I'll be the one to walk out on everybody. I guess that's what us Clutterbuckets and Harts are best for…"

"Maya, you're not going to end up alone. I'm sure there's someone out there who's going to like you, or likes you. And you know we'll all stay the best of friends no matter what happens-"

"You don't know that," Maya said quickly but quietly, "You don't know how my life is going to end up. Everything I've ever had walked out on my life. Everything I've ever wanted, I gave it up." She sniffed as looked at Lucas with a small smile, "I don't have a perfect life, and I never will."

"Maya, don't say that." Lucas shook his head, "Don't ever say that, please. You don't know how your life is going to end up either. No one does. That doesn't mean you can just give up. You're a fighter, okay? I've known that since the first day that I've met you. You've been a pain in my ass, too, but I couldn't ask for anything better." He held her hand, "You won't end up alone, so please don't say stuff like that. Anyone would be lucky enough to have you in their life."

Maya smiled, tears glistening in her bright blue eyes. "Thank you, Lucas. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hey, you called me Lucas," he noticed.

"It's your name, isn't it?"

Lucas' lips twitched as he was about to smile, but instead a large yawn erupted from his mouth and he had a sleepy look on his face. Maya raised an amused brow.

"How come you're so tired?"

Lucas shrugged, "Movie's kind of boring, I guess. Not the kind you'll ever find me watching."

That caught Maya's attention. She sat up straighter, "Oh yeah? What kind of movies do you watch, Cowboy? Pure Country? Hannah Montana: The Movie?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Har har-"

Maya shook her head, "No no no. You mean, ha hurr."

Lucas ignored that comment, "I like action movies. Country movies are okay and all, but they're not really my type, believe it or not. Movies like Terminator and the Jason Bourne series are what I really go for."

Maya narrowed her eyes, "Country movies are not your type? That's something you don't hear everyday."

Lucas laughed as Riley sat back on the couch and gave them a confused look before her attention was brought back to the TV, thanks to her peripheral vision. "OMG, guys! Watch this part; Edward is about to sparkle!" She squealed, munching on her popcorn.

Lucas returned his attention to the television, and Maya frowned, upset that they weren't conversing anymore. She sighed, looking at the time on her phone. Maybe a nap wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

"Let's play 'Never Have I Ever'!" Riley clapped excitedly after the movie was over.

"I am not familiar with this game," Smackle said. "How do you play?"

"Basically, players sitting in a circle hold up ten fingers. Anyone who has done the activity mentioned in the "Never have I ever . . ." statement, puts one finger down. As players put down all their fingers, they are eliminated from the game. The winner of the game is the last remaining player with a finger raised." Farkle explained with ease.

"Intriguing. I guess I'll play then." Smackle said, taking her spot on the floor.

Five out of the six of them sat in a circle, and Riley looked around the group. A certain blonde was missing. When the others realized that as well, their attention was turned towards the girl in question, who appeared to be napping. Riley got up from her spot and went over to Maya, poking her like crazy. Maya slapped Riley's hand away and grumbled.

"Maya, wake up! We're going to play 'Never Have I Ever'!" Riley exclaimed, shaking the blonde awake.

"Never have I ever wanted to smack someone so much for interrupting my sleep." Maya growled, sitting up with a grouch.

"Don't be such a sour puss, Maya. Come on, get up and play," Riley grabbed the shorter girl's hand and dragged her down to the floor with a thud and a yelp from the blonde. Maya's head landed on someone's lap, fortunately, and as she looked up she was met with green eyes dancing with amusement.

"Uh s-sorry," Maya stuttered as she scrambled to sit up straight, a blush making its way to her cheeks.

Lucas laughed, "It's okay, Maya."

"Alright, hands up! Let's play! Who wants to start?!" Riley shouted with joy, taking her place next to her boyfriend.

"I'll start," Zay volunteered. "Never have I ever walked in on my parents."

"'Walked in?'" Smackle asked.

"As in accidentally walk into a room where your parents were having sex," Farkle explained.

"That is disgusting! Who would invade their parents' privacy? Surely you have heard the noises before walking in, right?"

Maya and Riley both put a finger down, much to everyone's shock. Riley explained first, "It was their anniversary, and I was about five years old. I was supposed to be asleep but I heard weird noises that woke me up. When I walked in, they were really shocked. I asked them what they were doing, and they said they were 'wrestling.'"

Zay and the others couldn't contain their laughter. It sounded like something Cory and Topanga would do. "Okay, Maya, what about you?"

Maya shrugged, "Shawn and my mom thought they were slick trying to have quiet sex in the apartment before we moved into Shawn's condo. Boy were they wrong. I heard those floorboards creak like crazy. I guess my feet moved before I could even think, and I opened the door to yell at them and…well, let's just say I never thought I would see all of Shawn like that."

Zay wiped the tears from his eyes, his laughter finally dying down, "Oh man, that's rich. Okay, who's next?"

Maya thought for a moment, "Never have I ever…seen one of you guys naked."

Lucas and Zay both put down their fingers, "Hey, we've been friends since we were in diapers. Plus, we have football and baseball practice together. We're not gay or anything," Lucas shrugged.

"I know you're not gay, Bucky. Otherwise you would have a lot of explaining to do about that triangle," Maya teased.

"That gives me an idea! Never have I ever been in a triangle!" Smackle cheered.

The trio glared at her as they each put a finger down, much to everyone else's amusement. "Next?"

"Never have I ever kissed another person of the same gender." Farkle grinned.

When they looked around, it appeared that no one has ever kissed anyone of the same sex. Farkle's grin turned into a frown as he realized that his statement didn't get anyone's finger down.

Riley laughed, "Better luck next time, Farkle. Okay, never have I ever…kissed a guy- or girl- that I liked."

"Um…Riles, you have done that." Maya deadpanned, causing Riley to grin sheepishly.

Lucas, Riley, Farkle, and Smackle all put their fingers down. Maya and Zay looked at each other with frowns evident on their face. "Hashtag: living that single life," Zay said, and Maya laughed.

"Wait, Maya, didn't you kiss Brandon on your date?" Riley asked.

"Well, yeah, it was a quick peck, but it didn't mean anything. I don't like Brandon like that, so I never really counted it for anything."

"But clearly, if you kissed Brandon and it didn't mean anything, then there was a kiss that did mean something before, right?"

"Riley, I've kissed a lot of guys. I've dated around before, but they didn't really last. They were just…I don't know. Not my type."

"Well, then what is your type, Maya?" Riley asked.

Zay stared at her dumbfounded, "You're kidding, right? She was in a triangle for about three years and you're asking her 'what's her ty-'" Zay was cut off when a couch pillow was hurled towards his face, courtesy of Maya.

"Isaiah Babineaux, I suggest you shut the hell up before you get what's coming to ya," Maya growled low enough for Zay to hear. He nodded his head, and Maya smiled. She was _good_.

"Okay, moving on," Lucas said quickly before anyone could say anything, "Never have I ever had sexual fantasies about anyone here."

Riley gave Maya a 'we'll talk about this later' look, and Maya rolled her eyes at her best friend's stubbornness.

Zay put his finger down, much to the guys' shock and the girls' disgust. "Hey, when you put a man in the same room as three hotties, it's hard not to imagine-"

"Zay, shut the hell up." Maya groaned, which resulted in a 'yes ma'am' from the darker boy.

"Never have I ever masturbated before," Smackle said.

Riley cringed, "Why oh why did this game turn so dirty so fast?"

"That was pretty straightforward, Smackle," Maya was impressed. "Never thought you would say something like that."

"Well, saying is a lot different than the actual doing. I have no need of ever masturbating or 'jerking off' as you simpletons would say. I do not have any sexual fantasies that need to be fulfilled, no matter how many times Lucas shows up in them." Smackle stated.

"SMACKLE!" Farkle shouted, causing the girl to look back at him in shock of his volume.

"What I say?"

"Hey, he's my boyfriend, Smackle," Riley grabbed onto Lucas' arm protectively. "You can't think about him that way anymore."

Maya felt as though the statement was directed to her as well, but she shook her head. "Okay, so has anyone here masturbated or not?"

Zay and Lucas put their fingers down, which didn't really shock anyone (save for Riley of course), and even Maya had put her finger down. "What? Maya?!"

"Hey, I wanted to know what the big deal was about. It was a one-time thing," She said defensively.

"My arms are getting tired," Farkle complained.

"The game is nowhere near over, and you only have one finger down. Lucas is losing anyway; he has four fingers down." Zay commented.

"It's not my fault you guys are choosing things I've done before," Lucas frowned.

"Ooh, I got one," Zay said. "Never have I ever wanted to have screw with the same sex."

Maya put her finger down, "I wonder what girl on girl action feels like."

"May I suggest using the internet to find out," Zay smirked, "Or better yet, which lovely lady will be willing to have sex with Maya right here, right now?"

That resulted in another pillow to the face.

* * *

"I still can't believe you've never kissed anyone that meant something to you," Riley followed Maya to her locker the next day, annoying the blonde further.

"Riley, drop it. For the last time, I really don't care about that stuff, it's not such a big deal." Maya opened her locker and through some books in, looking for her stuff for the next half of the day.

"Not a big deal?!" Riley scoffed, "How is being kissed by a guy not a big deal?! Technically, your first kiss is like one of the biggest deals of your life, how do you not see that?!"

"Riley, your first kiss was with _Farkle_ , and you didn't make a big deal out of it," Maya frowned.

"He caught me off guard, and you know I wanted to kiss Lucas instead! That's why I auditioned to be Juliet! I was upset, remember?"

Maya shook her head, "Come on, Riles, the last time I showed interest in a guy, it was Lucas, and we all know how _that_ turned out."

Riley's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Maya shrugged, "Riley, it means that I haven't shown interest in anyone since I called off the triangle. It means that no one catches my fancy, or makes me dance in circles, or causes my heart to flutter."

"No one or no one else?" Riley asked after a beat of silence.

"What?"

Riley shook her head, "Nevermind. Maya, I love you, okay? But you need to love yourself too. Go out on a date, meet new people. Maybe your soulmate is out there waiting for you."

"Soulmate, my ass. There is no such thing as soulmates, Riley. People who claimed they found the one end up getting divorced, so they just look stupid in the end," Maya slammed her locker door shut. "Hope is for suckers, and nothing will ever change my mind about that. So just drop it, Riley."

Riley was quiet for a moment, before she sighed. "I promise I will drop it."

"I don't trust you when you say it like that. Ring power!" Maya raised her fist in the air, waiting for Riley to follow suit.

Riley smiled as she raised her fist as well, their rings clinking together. "Ring power."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Oh, Maya~!" Riley cheered in a sing-song tone, bounding over towards the said blonde, who was putting books away for the day. Maya closed her locker and raised an eyebrow at the cheerful brunette, who was bouncing on her tippy-toes.

Usually when Maya saw Riley like this, the Matthews child had done something that she believes is right, without asking for anyone else's opinion. Usually they involved helping out her friends, and while Maya was grateful that Riley usually had good intentions, most of the meddling Riley did usually resulted in failures.

"What did you do?" Maya sighed, running a finger through her wild hair.

Riley immediately frowned, "Hey, why did you say that like I did something bad?" When Maya looked unamused at Riley's innocent act, Riley sighed. "Okay, fine. I may have done something…that will get you upset, but know that I did it out of love."

"Riley…what did you do?"

"I set you up on a date!" Riley grinned, waiting for Maya's reaction. "Yay?!"

"You WHAT?!" Maya shouted, turning heads in the hallway, "Riley, why would you set me up on a date? I told you to stay out of my romantic life!"

"Yeah, but all of our friends have someone, minus Zay but he doesn't seem to mind all that much. And I don't want you to third-wheel with any of us, so I thought that maybe you could try going out with someone who you would really like."

"You are unbelievable," Maya groaned, pushing pass her best friend to leave the building.

Riley skipped to catch up with her, "Come on, Maya! Look, hear me out. I think you'll like this guy. He's super cute and he's new to the school. His name is Liam, isn't that hot?"

Maya rolled her eyes as she went down the front steps of the school. Riley sighed as they approached the gang. Zay appeared to be flirting with some cheerleader, who for once seemed interested in him. Farkle and Smackle were reading a science textbook, and Lucas was texting someone on his phone.

"Guys, please tell Riley to back off." Maya crossed her arms.

"Would you guys please tell Maya that I'm doing this for her benefit?" Riley pouted.

"Would you guys please tell us what you're fighting about?" Farkle asked.

"Riley set me up on a blind date with some new guy at our school, when I specifically told her to butt out for things like this." Maya whirled around to face the taller girl, "You never listen to me, do you?"

"I'm doing this for your own good, Maya. If you decide not to date, or you have first kisses that don't mean anything to you, you're going to end up alone. And I don't want you to end up alone."

Maya rolled her eyes, "I've never even heard of this 'Liam' kid, what the hell is his last name?"

Riley thought for a moment, "Liam Patterson, I think?"

"Liam Patterson?!" Smackle's jaw dropped. "He's like the hottest guy I've ever laid my eyes upon besides Lucas!"

"SMACKLE!" Farkle bellowed.

"You're hot too, honey." Smackle reassured him, giving him a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, I heard he's like a rebel, just like Maya over here. But he's also super smart in school. All the girls fawn over him, but he doesn't flirt with them. Since he's new, he doesn't have many friends, so we should hang out with him sometime!" Riley clapped her hands excitedly.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, "How do you know so much about this guy?"

Riley shrugged, "I was talking to a few people in the newspaper club. They know a lot about everyone here at school."

"How did you even find out about him?"

"We ran into each other earlier, literally. I wasn't watching where I was going and I bumped into him. Let me tell you, I have never seen such a pretty blue eye color since I've met Maya." Riley smiled.

"If you like him that much, then why don't _you_ go out with him?" Maya joked.

Riley rolled her eyes, "I have a boyfriend, Maya. Did you forget that?"

"Did _you_ forget what I specifically asked you not to do," then Maya gasped. "YOU BROKE RING POWER!"

"It was for your own good! I promise I'll make up for it, but you have to go on a date with this guy! Please?"

"How did you even get him to agree to go out with me?"

"Oh, that's easy. I told him I thought he was really cute and that I have a friend who could need a really cute guy in her life. I even showed him that selfie you sent me last week so that he could see what you look like." Riley didn't seem to notice the odd looks her other friends gave her.

Maya turned to her friends for help, "Guys?"

Farkle and Smackle looked at each other, before returning their attention back to the short blonde. "I think you should give it a try. If Riley makes him seem like a pretty good person, then maybe he is a pretty good person." Farkle said.

Maya looked at Lucas, "Lucas?"

Lucas hesitated for a moment, and his expression was unreadable to Maya. "Maybe…you should get to know him before you jump into dating. You can't date a person and not know their history, right?"

Maya sighed, not bothering to ask Zay, who was _still_ flirting with the cheerleader. "Fine. I'll give it a try. But I'm not going to guarantee you that it will work out."

Riley squealed and hugged her best friend, "YAY! Oh, Maya, this is so exciting! You're actually going to give it a try!" Riley released her hold from her friend, her brown eyes shining with excitement, "OMG what if you guys hit it off so well that you date for a long time, then get married, and have a lot of children?!"

Maya put up her hands to stop her friend, "Hold up! I haven't even met the guy yet, and you're already thinking of our future?"

Riley laughed, hugging Maya once more.

* * *

Maya sat on her couch, eating cookie dough ice cream while watching some cartoon on TV. She was busy thinking about that stupid date Riley had set her up on. Riley claims she did it for Maya's benefit, but there was no way that she would ever break ring power just to ask some guy out for Maya. There has to be more to this than she thinks.

Of course, maybe the up-side is that Maya may finally get over Lucas for good if she goes out with this guy, assuming that the date went well and she would go out with him again. Although, he did look very skeptical and unsure about the whole thing, but Maya just thought it was because the whole thing was out of the blue. She was hoping he would say no, but he's with Riley, so why wouldn't he say yes?

Maya sighed into her ice cream. She was a bad friend for still having feelings for her best friend's boyfriend, even though she was the one who gave him up. If she hadn't though, she'd still be in a ridiculous triangle and Lucas would still be way too afraid to choose between them. She didn't blame him though. If she had two best friends that she liked and had to choose between, she wouldn't be able to pick either. It meant hurting the other's feelings.

It's sad, however. When Maya told them to "have at it," Lucas had asked her if she was sure. She wanted to say no, but when she saw the happy look on Riley's face she nodded her head and acted as though she was fine. She cried for several nights after that, but soon decided that Riley was bound to get the guy anyway.

After all, her happiness did come first.

The only person who knew that Maya was unhappy was Zay, when he accidentally walked into her bedroom, and saw a mountain of tissues on her bed, and a red-eyed Maya who was equally shocked. He didn't say anything but he did hold her as she cried her eyes out into his shoulders.

Yeah, yeah, call her pathetic, but she was tired of being the strong one all the time. She swore Zay to secrecy and he hasn't told anyone since then.

Katy walked into the apartment, throwing her keys and bag on the end table next to the door. She plopped onto the seat next to Maya, reaching into her apron and taking out a spoon, digging into the ice cream with her daughter. "How was your day, baby girl?"

Maya shrugged, "Uneventful, for the most part. However, Riley set me up on a blind date, and I am not too happy about it."

Katy put a spoonful of the creamy treat into her mouth, "Do we know the guy?"

Maya shook her head, "She claims he's cute, and Smackle thinks he's as hot as Lucas, but I haven't even seen or heard of this guy. He's new to the school." She looks at her phone for any messages, "Riley was supposed to send me a pic of him though, but I guess she hasn't found it yet."

As if on cue, Maya's phone made a sound and Maya unlocked it, revealing that it was a picture sent from Riley. When she enlarged it, she almost dropped her spoon.

"Holy shit, he's fucking _gorgeous_!" Maya showed the picture to her mother.

Although the picture was taken from an angle above Liam's head, the boy was indeed attractive. He had smooth tan skin, with no blemishes what so ever. He had a cleft chin, and a small mole next to his full lips. They looked soft and kissable, might she add. There were faint freckles dotting his cheeks, but they weren't too noticeable. He had sleek black hair, greased in gel with a few strands popping out here and there. His eyes were the prettiest shade of blue she had ever seen. It was as bright as a cloudless sky, with specks of grey and gold around the pupil.

Since the picture was taken from above (it was obvious he was taking a selfie), you could see some part of his torso. He was undeniably fit, and his abs were pretty defined. Maya almost drooled over his picture.

"If I were a lot younger," Katy said, taking a spoonful of ice cream. "I definitely would've hit that."

* * *

On Saturday, Maya was at the park with her friends except Lucas and Riley, who went to find Liam who promised to be at the park. She passed the picture around to her friends, Smackle almost kissing the photo before Farkle snatched the phone from her hands and showed the others.

"Damn, Maya. He's a keeper," Zay said, whistling. "Riley chose a good one for you."

"I guess, but what if he turns out to be a total douche?" Maya shrugged, "I don't think I'd be interested in a douchebag."

"You have nothing to worry about, Maya," Farkle said. "If he turns out to be a jerk, you've got three guys who will gladly take him down for you."

"Especially Lucas," Zay added. "I can only imagine the fury he'll have if this guy cheats on you or something."

"As much as I love 'Texas Lucas,'" Maya laughed, "I don't think I'll ever let him resort to violence."

"We're here!" Riley called from ten feet away.

All eyes were on Liam as he and the couple approached the group. Maya took a deep breath before she exhaled and ran her hand through her hair. Liam approached Maya, and her breath was almost taken away. Is it possible that a person looks about a thousand times more appealing in real life than in a photo?

Riley smiled, "Maya, meet Liam. Liam, this is Maya, my best friend."

Liam smirked, and held Maya's hand in his. She was surprised by how soft it was. "Hello, gorgeous." He said, kissing the back of her hand.

Maya raised an eyebrow, "Can you be any more subtle?"

He grinned as he removed his lips from her hand, "Hey, I'm just telling the truth. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Right," Maya said, removing her hand from his. "So, Liam, what made you want to go out with me in the first place? My picture?"

Liam shrugged, "That, and the fact that your friend here wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Don't get me wrong, you're beautiful and everything, but I don't do blind dates."

Maya smiled, "Well then, don't think of this as a blind date."

"Hmm?"

"Think of it more as two strangers getting to know each other better," she shrugged. "I'm not big fan on blind dates either, so I think it's only fair I get to know you before I start to date you."

The teenage dreamboat thought for a moment, "I guess that's fine."

Zay cleared his throat, "Riles, you didn't introduce us."

Riley hit her forehead for forgetfulness, "Oh, right! Liam, that's Zay, Smackle, and Farkle."

Liam gave a confused look at the last two names, "Smackle and Farkle?"

"Isadora Smackle, actually," Smackle said, shaking the taller man's hand. "And might I add that you are absolutely delicious."

Farkle rolled his eyes as he pulled his girlfriend away from the boy. "I'm sorry about that; she doesn't know when to use her inside voice. I'm Farkle, and no, I don't know who would do that to me." The geek said, shaking Liam's hand.

Liam laughed, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to ask that."

"Shall we?" Maya asked, walking away from her embarrassing group of friends.

"We shall," Liam replied, walking next to her. "It was nice meeting you guys."

"Call me!" Smackle whisper-shouted after him, hoping Farkle wouldn't hear.

He didn't, "I like the guy. I think he's good for Maya."

"You think so?" Lucas finally spoke after being silent for so long.

Everyone gave him a confused look. "Well, yeah." Riley said, "He doesn't seem to be so bad."

Lucas' far-off look disappeared as he gave them a smile, "Yeah, you're probably right."

Still, there was something off about this guy…

* * *

"So, Liam, what do you like to do for fun?" Maya asked, sipping on her smoothie.

The two of them went to Topanga's to hang out, because Maya wanted to feel in her comfort zone now that she realized that her friends weren't with her. She knew it wasn't supposed to be a date, but she wanted to be comfortable if she was going to eventually try dating this guy in the near future.

Liam was absolutely gorgeous, and Maya would hate if she let him slip away before she even got the chance. Maybe if she did date him, she wouldn't be so upset seeing Riley and Lucas together all the time. It sounds like she's using him, really, but she forced herself into thinking that she really needed this. She silently thanked Riley for doing this for her.

Liam thought for a moment, "I'm not a video-games kind of person, like most boys would be, if you want to know the truth. You would most likely see me in a leather jacket and a spray paint bottle in my hand."

Maya raised an eyebrow, "You do graffiti?"

Liam shrugged, "Once in a while. Other than that, I'm usually at some party getting turned up or something. But I don't drink. I hate drinking. Plus, alcohol doesn't even taste that good to me, to be honest."

Maya smirked, "I don't know, it tastes pretty damn good to me."

He crossed his arms, "You drink?"

Maya shrugged, "No, not often. Only when I go to the parties that I know will have the best alcohol. Other than that, I'm usually sober."

He laughed, "Okay, Ms. Hart, what do you like to do for fun?"

Maya smiled, "I'm an artist. In art class, I paint what's on my mind, and I usually don't actually do the assignment. But I still have an A because it's my best class."

Liam was impressed, "How long have you been drawing for?"

Maya thought for a moment, "I mean, everyone draws when they're kids, right? But I guess I really started drawing when I was in seventh grade. I didn't realize how well I could draw."

"Maybe you can show me some of your drawings one day," Liam smiled.

"Maybe."

* * *

Maya sat at her desk so early, that none of the other students had arrived yet. Mr. Matthews allowed her to stay while he graded some paperwork, so Maya decided to draw. She was so busy in her drawing, that she didn't notice a certain someone sit in the desk in front of her, watching her with cautious green eyes.

"Hey," he finally said, and Maya jumped in surprise.

"Holy fuck, Lucas you scared me!" Maya frowned, punching the boy's arm in annoyance.

Lucas rubbed his arm, laughing at the mad shorty. "I'm sorry, shortstack, I didn't mean to. I was just passing by the class and I saw you in here, so I decided to stop by and say hi."

"You do realize this is your first period class too, Ranger Rick. Why do you need to stop by when you have class in like five minutes?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Come on, Maya, who goes to class this early?"

"Moral compasses, such as yourself." Maya smirked.

It was silent for a few moments afterwards, and Maya couldn't help but grow somewhat uncomfortable under Lucas' gaze. It was weird; they haven't been alone by themselves in a while, without Riley being right there by Lucas' side. Maya then started to wonder where the brunette was anyway.

Maya hasn't gone to pick up Riley from school in a while, so when they saw each other at school, it always turned into a dramatic reunion in the hallways. The reason she hasn't picked her up in a while was because Lucas had a car, and Maya didn't want to third wheel them, so she always took her skateboard to school, or Shawn would drop her off, or she took the subway. It depended on what shoes she was wearing that day.

But before she could ask where her best friend was, Lucas asked her, "So how was it?"

Maya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "How was what?"

"Your date with Liam, how was it?" He asked.

Maya wasn't expecting _him_ to ask her that question. Even Riley hasn't asked her yet, and she was usually all over any dates that Maya went on.

"It wasn't a date," she said slowly, eyeing the cowboy. "And it was fine. Why do you care?"

Lucas shrugged, "Can't a guy ask his best friend how her 'not date' went?"

Maya's eyes narrowed, "He can, if he wasn't dating _my_ best friend." She put down her pencil, and folded her hands. "Why are _you_ interested in my dating life, Huckleberry?"

Lucas held his hands up defensively, "I'm not interested, I was just curious. Riley didn't tell me anything about your date, so I assumed you hadn't told her yet."

"Where is Riley, anyway?" Maya asked, "Aren't you supposed to pick her up?"

"Farkle picked her up instead. He said he wanted to talk to her about something important, so I let him." Lucas sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "Why are you so upset that I'm interested in your dating life?"

"I'm not upset, I'm just…curious. You never gave a damn about who I went out with before-"

"Maya, I do care. I just never thought to ask." Lucas defended.

"-and yet when I go out with someone that Riley set me up with, someone who could potentially become a good boyfriend or something, you care all of a sudden." Maya concluded, smirking evilly. "Ain't that right, cowboy?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Maya, please. I don't 'care all of a sudden.' I've always cared; just never bothered to ask you because Riley always told me anyway."

"I don't know, Hop-along. It sounds to me that someone is jealous~." Maya said in a singsong tone, much to his annoyance.

"Please, I am not jealous. I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"A girlfriend who's not even here. You know, a good boyfriend would've ridden with her and Farkle, because I would've been curious as hell to hear what he has to say that is so important." Maya loved teasing the hell out of Lucas, because it pissed him off so much.

"A good boyfriend would also trust that his girlfriend wasn't doing anything that could potentially destroy their relationship," Lucas frowned. "I'm not jealous, Maya. Why should I be?"

Maya leaned close in her seat, and she ran her fingers through Lucas' dirty blonde hair ever so slowly, their gaze never breaking. Mr. Matthews, who was watching the whole exchange from his desk, felt the sexual tension in the room, and he bit the eraser on his pencil, wondering what he should do to stop it.

Maya removed her fingers from his hair, ignoring how hot her face was, but relishing in the fact that Lucas was turning slightly red from the whole ordeal. Their faces were a few inches apart from each other, and she could feel the hot air blowing from his nose. "You shouldn't be," she quietly said. Her eyes flickered to his lips as she involuntarily bit her own, before returning her gaze to his bright green eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped at their very close proximity.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and the class started to fill in. The two broke their intense stare, and Lucas turned around in his seat, his face as red as a tomato. Maya let go of the breath she never realized she was holding.

What the hell just happened?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You want to break up with Smackle?!" Maya asked with her jaw dropped.

The five out of the six of them were at Topanga's in their usual nook, slowly digesting the news that Farkle had just given them. It came as a shock to them, because they had always thought that those two would stay together, no matter what happened to them. But apparently Farkle hadn't felt the same way.

Smackle was the only one in the group who wasn't there obviously, because she had gone to a science competition in Pennsylvania, so she wouldn't be back for a few days.

Farkle sat next to Zay, who was rubbing his back in consolation. Riley and Lucas sat next to each other at the bay window, and Maya sat across from them.

"This is the important thing you wanted to tell Riley?" Lucas asked.

"Farkle, this is an important thing you have to tell all of us," Maya said, still shocked.

"I know," Farkle sighed. "But I felt that I should tell Riley first, because I figured she would be the first to notice that something was wrong with me if I didn't say anything."

"Why do you want to break up with Smackle?" Zay asked.

"I just…I can't do it anymore. I can't be in a relationship with someone who is always going to look at other guys and fawn over them, with their freakish faces and their freakish bodies-no offense, Lucas," Farkle added. "And then look at me without the same adoration and treat me like I was her second choice. I mean, wasn't she the one who wanted to date me in the first place? What's up with that?"

"Maybe it's her Asperger's," Riley said. "You know she's socially awkward, but it isn't entirely her fault. Lots of girls in relationships look at hot guys all the time, but they never really voice their opinions about them, because their boyfriends would get upset about it."

"That's easy for you to say, Riley," Zay rolled his eyes. "You're dating a hot guy, and any other guy in comparison would probably look average to you."

"That's not true, there are plenty of hot guys that I see everyday," Lucas looked at Riley in shock but she didn't see that and continued. "But I don't really care because I'm dating someone and I couldn't be happier."

"Well, whether it's her Asperger's or not," Farkle said, "I can't be in that sort of relationship with her, or anyone for that matter. Call me selfish and unreasonable, but that's the way I see it."

The group was quiet for a few moments, not really sure what to say. It seemed as though Farkle was really set on breaking his relationship with Smackle.

"Okay," Maya said, all eyes on her. "It's not really fair that you're breaking up with Smackle based on those points. Yes, she flirts with other guys, but it's not like she's trying to pursue a relationship with them. I know Smackle, and I know that she would never hurt you on purpose. I think you should talk to her first, and ask her if she could stop. Don't just break up with her out of the blue because of something she didn't realize she was doing."

Farkle pondered for a moment, before giving Maya a smile. "Thanks, Maya. I'll give it a try."

Maya smiled, sipping on her smoothie. "You guys should just call me the relationship fixer or something, because I am _good_."

Riley perked up, "That reminds me! How was your date with Liam?!"

Maya deflated, "I was hoping you would've forgotten about that."

"Come on, girl," Zay prodded. "Details. How was your date with tall, tan, and handsome?"

"Tan?" Maya laughed, while Zay shrugged. "It wasn't a date, we were just getting to know each other better. And it was just fine, thank you very much."

"That wasn't very descriptive," Riley whined. "Come on, tell us what happened!"

"That's what happened, honestly! We came here, got a smoothie, and talked about ourselves. Ain't no thang."

"Did you share the smoothie?" Riley suggestively waggled her eyebrows.

"No, we didn't." Maya rolled her eyes.

"What did you guys talk about?" Lucas asked, suddenly interested.

Maya glared at Lucas, and he just smiled sweetly and innocently. Ever since their whole ordeal earlier that day, the two avoided each other like no one's business. Their friends had grown oddly suspicious of their actions, especially Riley, who was watching these two with curious eyes right at this moment. Maya clicked her tongue, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She returned her attention to her best friend.

"Why don't we talk about this some other time?" She said, picking up her books and bag. "I need to get home anyway, my mom needs help with dinner and I can't be here for too long." Before Riley could say anything, Maya walked out of the store and bumped into something hard, yet soft. She dropped her books, and groaned.

"Ugh, it's just not my day, is it?" She mumbled, as they both bent down to pick up her books. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—Liam?"

The man in question gave her a lopsided smile, as he gave her book back to her. "Hey."

"Hi," she said as they stood up. "Fancy meeting you here. Erm…what _are_ you doing here?"

"I came by for a cup of coffee. I heard they have the best coffee here, so I wanted to try it." He leaned in closer and whispered, "Plus, a group of girls were pretty much following me, so I had to find a place to hide."

Maya laughed, "Well, I know the woman who makes the coffee here. My mom. As a matter of fact, she's home and I was just heading there right now. Wanna come with?"

Liam smirked, his eyes shining with mischief. "Inviting me into your house already huh? Can't get enough of me, hmm."

Maya rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. Keep dreaming, loser. Let's go."

* * *

"What was that all about?" Zay asked Lucas after Maya left the shop.

Lucas sighed, pulling Riley closer by her waist. "Nothing."

"That didn't seem like 'nothing.'" Farkle said, eyeing the male blonde intensely, "It seems to me that you and Maya are fighting about something."

"We're not fighting, it's just…" Lucas thought for a moment, "I had asked her about her not date earlier today, and she automatically accused me of being jealous."

"Why would you be jealous?" Riley asked, frowning. "Aren't you happy with me?"

"Of course I am. I don't know why she said that, honestly!" Lucas said defensively. "Why would I be jealous? Do I have any reason to be jealous?"

Zay shrugged, "I guess not. But you know Maya; she was probably trying to mess with your brain."

"Is there anything else that happened, Lucas?" Riley asked with her frown still evident.

Lucas wanted to say yes, that there was this very intense moment that he shared with the blonde. But if he said that, he knew he would upset Riley because she would believe that he had interest in Maya again, or that she was still interested in him (which was probably not even the case). Lucas never lied to Riley before regarding their relationship, but he didn't want to tell her something that would automatically upset her.

So he had no choice but to lie, "No, nothing else."

Besides, it didn't mean anything…right?

* * *

Maya was silent on her way back home, much to Liam's confusion. She was silently fuming over that stupid cowboy and his stupid everything. How it is that she's been obsessing over him for years, she'll never know. She should have just given up on the dream a long time ago. Riley has him, so shouldn't she be happy?

Of course, that little "thing" that happened in the classroom this morning wasn't helping. She still can't believe that she was so close to him. It was almost as intense as that night at the campfire (she was so afraid that he was going to kiss her). But unlike then, when she was paralyzed as to what he was going to do next, she initiated this one, and she was so close to kissing him.

But something inside her told her that she shouldn't kiss him. She knew better than to kiss him, because he didn't belong to her, and she him. He had a girlfriend, and she was supposedly seeing someone. Plus, it didn't help that Mr. Matthews was in the classroom with them, and through her peripheral vision she could practically see him shaking with fear and biting his pencil.

Maya sighed. Maybe it was for the best that she didn't kiss him. After all, all her other kisses with guys meant nothing to her, so why should a kiss with Lucas be any different?

Then she remembered how he got defensive when she asked him if he was jealous. Of course, she didn't really specify what he should be jealous of, but she assumed he's (isn't?) jealous of Liam. Riley finds a guy for Maya, and automatically he's supposed to date her or something? She guesses it just didn't make sense to him. It didn't make sense to anyone actually. Maya _still_ thinks it doesn't make sense to her.

Reaching home, she opened her apartment door and went straight to the kitchen, revealing her mom cooking something on the stove. Katy turned off the fire under the pot, wiping her hands on the apron. The older woman looked up and smiled when she saw her daughter approach the counter, Liam right behind her.

"Hi, baby doll. How was school?" Katy said, hugging her daughter.

"Stressful," Maya truthfully said, releasing her mother. "But I'll manage."

Katy looked at the guy behind the short one, "Is this the boy Riley set you up with?"

"Oh yeah, this is Liam. Liam, this is my mom." Maya introduced.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Hart," Liam smiled, shaking Katy's hand.

"Oh, honey, it's Mrs. Hunter actually. I've remarried," Katy admitted, smiling. "But it is so nice to meet you, Liam. You're even more handsome in real life than in the picture."

"Mom…"

"What, did I say something wrong? I didn't say anything to embarrass you, did I?"

Maya shook her head, "Nevermind. Actually, Liam wants to try Topanga's coffee, but I knew there wouldn't be any brewing at the restaurant because you're home, so I was wondering if you could make some for him."

Katy glared, "You bring a boy home for coffee?"

Maya raised an eyebrow, "I brought a boy home, didn't I?"

Katy sighed in defeat, "Fine. I'm still not done with dinner, so it might take me some time. Liam, you can stay if you want. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do while you wait."

Maya laughed, "That's a very short list of things you _wouldn't_ do, Mom, but okay." She took Liam's hand and led him to her bedroom.

Her room was a huge step-up from the room she used to live in. Her bed wasn't creaky, and it was plusher, with a comfy comfortable and decorative pillows decorating her bed. There was a white rug at the foot of her bed, and on top of that was a trunk. Nightstands stood at the head of her bed, and she had a walk-in closet across from her sleeping area. Large windows shrouded the room in light, with large pink curtains. On the left was her dresser and mirror, and on the right was a nice desk. The walls were painted with all different colors (Maya's touch) and they were covered with pictures of Maya and her friends.

On the floor next to her desk was where Maya's ferret slept in its playhouse. Yes, she still has the ferret. At least it's cleaner now, and had all of its shots.

"Nice room," Liam whistled.

"Thanks," Maya said, sitting on her bed.

"You know, you never really told me about your friends before." Liam mentioned, sitting in her desk chair, "I'd like to hear about them, you know. Get a good idea of who I have to impress."

Maya laughed, "You don't have to impress anyone, Liam. But I can tell you what they're like." Liam nodded and Maya thought for a moment, "Well you've already met Riley. I've known her since first grade. My parents were fighting and I wanted to get away from it all, so I left the house on my own. I heard singing coming from this little girl and I ended up in her bay window. We've been best friends ever since. She tries to find the good and everyone, and she's always so optimistic and happy about everything. You get used to it after a while."

Liam shuddered, "Sounds like the type of person who would go hella psycho on you if you do something that affects them negatively."

Maya laughed, "That's Riley for you. Then there's Farkle, someone else I've known since first grade. He's super smart and super rich. He loves me and Riley equally, which is why he can never choose between the both of us. That's why he's dating Smackle, the one who complimented you out of nowhere the other day. She's also a genius. Super awkward, but she's lovable.

"Then there's Zay and Lucas. Inseparable. I mean, Lucas was here in New York for a year until Zay came by. They're both best friends from Texas. Zay has his big mouth, but he's insanely funny and incredibly sweet. Lucas is the one who's dating Riley, and he's also super sweet. But he also has a bad side, which is kind of a turn on for me," Maya laughed.

"Oh, really now? Where's this bad side from?"

"I don't know. I just know that he used to have anger issues all the time in Texas, to the point where he beat up some kid so bad that he was sent to the hospital and Lucas was suspended for a year." Maya shrugged, "Now that I think about it, it seems more like he was expelled than suspended, but whatever. He and Zay are a year older than us because of that. I'm not really sure what Zay did to be in the same year as us, though."

"Sounds like this Lucas guy needs some help," Liam shrugged.

Maya glared, "Hey, watch it. Lucas came to New York to turn his life around, and that's what he did. That's why you'll catch me making fun of him all the time. Plus, it's fun." She smiled.

"Sounds like you really like the guy," Liam noticed.

"Yeah well, I was stuck in a love triangle with him for years," she admitted.

His eyes widened, "No kidding, really?"

"Yeah, but I told him that he could have Riley, because I didn't want to be stuck in some triangle for the rest of my life," Maya sighed. "It's better this way. Riley liked him first, and she's wanted to date him for a long time."

"And…you're okay with that?" Liam asked uncertainly.

Maya tilted her head in confusion, "Of course I am; what kind of question is that?" When Liam gave her an unamused look, she frowned. "I wasn't at first. It tore me apart, because I gave him up for the sake of someone else."

Liam sighed, running his fingers through his glossy black hair. "Of course, _you_ choosing to stop in the end would hurt your feelings, because it sounds to me like he was stringing you both along with his indecision. How long were you in the triangle for?"

Maya thought for a moment, "Some people would argue since the first time we met him, which was seventh grade. But if you want to be accurate, it was the middle of eighth grade. So we'd been in a triangle for about two years." She laughed, "I can't believe it was for that long."

Liam sighed, not laughing along with her. "You deserve better, Maya. You don't deserve some guy who couldn't even choose between a girl and her best friend. What moments did you two even share that Riley can't compare to?"

"When Riley wanted to get to know Lucas better, they had this whole talk about Lucas helping a horse give birth and his dream to be a veterinarian in a library. Meanwhile Lucas and I had a talk by a campfire, and it was pretty…intense."

Before Liam could ask, Katy opened the door. "Dinner's ready. Liam, I'm making your coffee right now."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hunter. I really appreciate it." Liam smiled.

When Katy closed the door, Liam turned back to Maya. "I think you can do better than a pretty face and a southern accent, Maya. You shouldn't have high expectations only for them to be knocked down like that. No one should string you along."

Maya stood up, heading towards the door. "Thanks, Liam, but I think I'm done with love triangles and romance for a while." She opened the door, only for it to be shut again. She whirled around with her hands on her hips, about to ask Liam what the big deal was, when she notice their close proximity, with his hand on the door as he leaned into her, her back against the door.

Maya gulped, taking in a whiff of his cologne. She could see the mischievous glint in his eyes as he leaned even closer. Her pupils dilated, and her heart was beating out of her chest. She could feel his breath against her cheek.

"That's too bad," he said lowly. Can a man get any sexier with a husky voice? Maya didn't think it was possible, "I was hoping we could have a little romance, hmm?"

"Y-you know I want to get to know you first if we're ever going to try," Maya stuttered, unsure of what she should do.

"I know plenty about you, can't we just leave it at that?"

"I don't k-know…"

He pushed off the door, and he took a few steps back. Maya relaxed, and she opened the door just a crack. He closed his eyes and smiled, walking out the door ahead of her. "Think about it," he said.

Maya gulped.

Oh, she was thinking about it, alright.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, Maya avoided Lucas at all costs, despite his efforts to get her to talk to him. When he'd get the chance to turn around and talk to her in class, she'd pretend that she was sleeping the entire time. And everyone knows how much Maya hates it when she's forced to be woken up.

Riley has been picking up on their behavior and grew extremely suspicious. No matter how many times she's asked Maya what was going on between her and Lucas, Maya either shot that question down, or she would change the subject entirely. Their other friends caught this, but chose not to pester the girl.

Meanwhile, when they asked Lucas, all he did was throw his hands in the air and proclaim that he didn't know what was going on with Maya. Riley frowned at this answer, wondering why her best friend and her boyfriend weren't getting along very well. It was weird.

And that's why Riley decided to investigate.

She found Liam's locker at the end of the day, hoping that he would be there putting his books away or something. She had an internal squeal when she learned that he was indeed there, closing the locker door about to leave for the day. Riley quickly jogged over to him, and his icy-blue eyes focused on her in confusion when she stood right next to him.

"Hey, Riley," he said cautiously. "What brings you over here?"

"Go out with Maya," Riley stated, folding her arms.

Liam almost choked on his own tongue, "W-what?"

The happy-go-lucky brunette rolled her eyes at the boy, "You heard me, Liam. Ask Maya out on a date."

Liam raised an eyebrow as he scoffed and shook his head, "You can't force me to go out with Maya like that. When she's ready to go out, then I'll ask her to go out with me. But she told me she's not ready to date yet. And as much as I want to go out with her, I respect her decision."

"Let me guess," Riley pondered for a moment. "You asked her to think about it?"

Liam frowned, "I don't like that you know anything."

Riley shrugged, "I only assumed. You just confirmed it."

Liam smirked. "Damn. Walked right into that one," he frowned again. "Why are you so persistent on me going out with Maya? What's in it for you?"

"I want you to figure out what's going on between her and Lucas," she whispered. "They've been acting weird since yesterday, and no one knows what's going on between them. I seriously hope that it's not anything bad for the group."

"So you want me to ask Maya what's wrong with her and cowboy? Can't you just ask her yourself?"

"Dummy, don't you think I've tried?" Riley sighed, "I think she'll tell you because you guys aren't that close yet, so it really won't have an effect on you."

"I don't know, Matthews. Maya doesn't seem like the type to open up about that type of stuff. I could hit a rock with that one." Liam scratched his head.

"Just…please? Do it for Maya, heck do it for me. I just want them to get along again." Riley pleaded.

She could see the uncertainty in his eyes, as Liam bit his lip in reluctance. Finally, he sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll do it. But I can't guarantee that she'll accept it. Maya doesn't seem like the type…"

* * *

"Sure, I'll go out with you." Maya said over the phone.

She could hear Liam choke on the other line, and she knew his mouth was dropped open and his eyebrows were practically close to his hairline, " _W-WHAT?!_ "

Maya snickered, "You heard me, silly. I said I'll go out with you."

" _You're not fucking around, right? Are you actually being serious?_ "

"Yes, I am being serious. What's not to believe? I think I've let you wait long enough. So yeah, let's go out."

" _I know there's more behind this, Maya. Why are you actually agreeing to go out with me? It can't because I asked you to think about it, right?_ "

Maya rolled her eyes as she laid back on her bed, "No, I did think about it. I just think that I've been single for too long. I need to get back on the horse, ya know? Dating isn't really my thing, but it sure beats being alone all the time. That and third-wheeling Riley ninety-nine percent of the time."

Liam was quiet for a moment, and she could feel the awkward pause at the end of the line. " _Why are you third-wheeling Riley? Don't you have other friends to hang out with?_ "

"Well, I'm sure you know that Smackle and Farkle are dating, and Zay is always dating every desperate cheerleader that he can find. And I don't really have any other friends, so…"

Liam scoffed, " _You don't have any other friends? But you're Maya Hart! The artist, the rebel, the badass. Who wouldn't want to be friends with you? I mean, have you looked at yourself? You're a babe!"_

Maya blushed at that last part, "W-well, I never really bothered associating myself with other people, and I'd like to keep it that way."

She heard him sigh, " _All I'm saying is that you shouldn't have to be with Riley and her boyfriend all the time. You have to expand your horizons a little bit, meet new people. It can't be you and her forever._ " She heard someone from his side say something, but it was inaudible. " _My mom's calling me for dinner. Let's make plans over text, okay?_ "

Maya smiled, "Okay. Bye Liam." She hung up her phone and groaned as she frowned at how quickly their first date could be. Liam was a nice guy though, and after everything that's happened so far since she's met him, why should she turn him down? Plus, he was incredibly good-looking, and funny, and she really wanted to see where things would go with him.

* * *

Maya arrived at Riley's apartment, eager to share the news between her friends, who all agreed to meet up at said brunette's home. Knocking on the door, Maya rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting for someone to open the door.

Unfortunately it was the last person she wanted to see right now.

Of course, though, Maya knew it was unavoidable. After all, Maya texted the group chat, so obviously Huckleberry Ranger Rick McBoingBoing would be there. She could feel her happy expression falter just a bit, but she forced a big smile on her face as she pushed past the cowboy. "Howdy, Sundance!" She exclaimed in a faux southern accent, skipping her way into the living room.

"Maya," he simply greeted, closing the door. "The others aren't here yet, and Riley stepped out for a moment. She should be back soon."

"And the other Matthews'?" She didn't like the sound of her and Lucas being alone together.

"They went out with Auggie. They took him to the town fair in Central Park," Lucas sat on the couch.

Maya remained standing, "That's nice…"

Lucas looked at her questionably, "Maya, we have to talk about what happened." She groaned and rolled her eyes at this, "We can't keep avoiding the topic forever!"

Maya scoffed as she sat down on the other end of the couch, "Oh my gosh, Lucas, nothing happened! We're friends, okay, and nothing will ever happen between us!"

"Okay, then why did you accuse me of being jealous then?" She could see he was getting a bit frustrated, but he kept it under the radar.

"Because I've never met a guy who's asked his best friend how her date went before, okay?"

"I was just being polite! You're the one reading too much into it!"

"Fine, so maybe I was reading into it too much! Can you blame me?!" Maya yelled, turning to Lucas, "You're in a triangle with your two best friends for two years, and yet as soon as the guy gets interested in a particular date you've had, when he's never asked about any other date you have, of course you're going to assume he's jealous!" She moved closer to Lucas, poking him harshly in the chest, "Not to mention the fact that if I didn't point out that you had never told Riley you loved her, you probably never would've said it and she would've kept thinking that your relationship with her was one-sided and a lie!"

Lucas stared at her, his green-eyes wide at her outburst. Maya tried her best to contain her breathing from her shouting. There was a deadly silent quiet that settled over the room, and the only thing you can hear in the background was a car in the distance.

Maya wished someone would come in. She wished that Riley would come through the door any second with her big clumsy legs and goofy grin. She wished Zay would knock on the door and exclaim that he wanted something to eat. But nothing happened, and Lucas continued to stare at her as she stared back, her eyebrows relaxing as her anger slowly dissipated. Her red face became a pale pink as her color returned to normal. She then realized that her finger was still on his chest, and just as she removed it, Lucas grabbed her wrist.

Maya gasped softly, her eyes widened at the sudden contact. Her eyes moved to his fingers closed around her wrist, and back to those gorgeous green eyes of his.

"Maya," he said quietly. "Do you…do you still have feelings for me?"

She quickly retracted her hands from his grasp, her eyes widening in shock. "What? N-no! Of course not! I don't have f-feelings for you, and at this point I never will! I will never like you like that again! Never!"

"Who are you trying to convince Maya," Lucas frowned, "Me or yourself?"

Maya shook her head at him, her mouth hung agape. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you even thinking about this kind of stuff when you _have_ a girlfriend? Need I remind you that _I_ was the one who broke off the triangle? You couldn't choose, so I did it for you."

"But that doesn't mean that you lost your feelings for me altogether. That doesn't mean-"

"Lucas!" Maya shot up, anger written across her face. "Drop it, okay? My feelings on you or any other guy are none of business, so leave it alone, got it?"

Lucas crossed his arms and glared at Maya, "I can be as stubborn as I want about this Maya. All you had to say was 'no,' and I would've dropped it—"

"We both know you wouldn't have dropped it regardless of what I would've had to say, Ranger Roy." Maya sneered, "I can't believe I'm even having this type of conversation with you."

Just in time, Riley opened the door, revealing the others coming in behind her. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Maya standing in the living room, clearly frustrated over something.

"Maya," Riley acted surprised, "How'd you get in here?"

Maya cocked an eyebrow, "Are you really asking me that question?"

Riley raised her hands in defense, "Hey, there are plenty of ways you can get inside my house, I'm just asking. What's wrong, why are you so angry?"

Maya shook her head, "Nothing, I'm fine."

Zay, Farkle, and Smackle all looked at each other, knowing that Maya was indeed not fine. And by the way Lucas remained quiet but tight-lipped, automatically gave them the impression that they were in the middle of a heated argument before Riley stepped in.

But Riley didn't seem to notice (or care) about the tension in the room as she skipped towards the couch and took a seat next to Lucas. The others took their place either on the floor next to them or on the other side of the couch. Maya sat in the armchair, a bit more relaxed, but she was still pretty upset.

"So, Maya, tell us the big news you called us here for today," Zay tried changing the subject.

Maya didn't seem to respond for a moment, until they saw her eyes light up and she had a devious smile on her face. Maya ran a hand through her gorgeous blonde locks as she looked at Riley, but was really watching Lucas behind her, "Liam asked me out on a date, and I said yes."

Smackle nearly coughed on her juice while Riley's eyes lit up and she squealed, rushing over to hug her best friend. Farkle and Zay smiled. But Lucas?

Maya, once released from the hug, saw his face fall, annoyance written all over it. She could see his eyebrows furrow and his forehead crease. She even saw his frown deepen. But she saw his lips twitch and he put on a smile, which to an unsuspecting eye looked so natural, but she knew it was forced.

"Ooh! Maya, I'm so excited for you! You're finally going to go out with Liam, this is so amazing!" Riley clapped her hands in excitement, "OMG, we should so go double-dating on your first date!"

Maya made a disgusted face, "Double date on the first date? I don't think so, I mean, who even does that?"

Riley frowned but thought for a moment before she shrugged, "True, I guess. But still! This is so amazing!"

Smackle, equally excited, rushed over to hug Maya, much to everyone's surprise. "I am equally as happy as Riley that you're finally going out with someone!"

Maya laughed, "It's not like I haven't dated before guys, no need to make a big deal out of this."

Zay and Farkle stood up from their spots on the floor. "Well, Maya, it was nice being single with you." Zay shook her hand.

Maya smirked, "It was truly an honor. But I thought you were going on a date with that cheerleader from last week?"

Zay shrugged, "I still am, but I know it's never going to turn into anything serious unless I really like her. I'm happy being single, especially since I can get any girl I want now, thanks to your advice."

Maya laughed, "Well, make sure they don't know about that."

Farkle smiled at the short blonde, "I'm glad you decided to try dating again, Maya. Maybe this one will stay for more than just one date?"

Maya playfully punched Farkle in the arm, laughing at his silliness. All eyes then moved to Lucas, waiting for his words of approval or encouragement. Maya raised an eyebrow at him, waiting to see if he was truly jealous or not, although she had a good idea of his feelings right now.

Lucas gave a lop-sided smile towards Maya, who glared at him but he chose to ignore her. "I'm happy for you, Maya. I believe that you and Liam would make a great couple."

Maya muttered some not-so-nice choice words under her breath, but no one heard her. Riley looked back in forth between the two, knowing that something definitely happened in the room before she had entered. She furrowed her brows and looked at Maya, who was too busy scowling at the cowboy to notice. She looked at Lucas, who moved his gaze to his phone, not wanting to be bothered anymore. Riley frowned and grabbed Maya's arm, dragging her to her bedroom and shutting the door.

She proceeded to walk Maya towards the bay window, and they sat down. Maya looked at Riley with an eyebrow raised, wanting to know what her deal was.

"What's going on between you and Lucas, Maya?" Riley asked.

This took Maya completely off guard, "W-what do you mean? Nothing is happening between us."

"Cut it out. I saw you look at him as though you want him dead. What is going on between you two, it's looking like you guys are fighting, and I don't like it."

"Riley, there is nothing happening between me and Lucas! Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you accused him of being jealous."

Maya's eyes widened, her mouth a bit open as she stared back at her best friend, who only looked at her in concern. Maya didn't think that Riley had known about that. She didn't think anyone had known about that. If she knew she accused Lucas of being jealous, does that mean…?

"H-how do you know about that?" She stuttered.

"Lucas told me. What in the world would ever make you think that Lucas would be jealous of you hanging out with a guy like Liam? If Farkle asked you how a date went with someone, I'm pretty sure you would never even accuse him of being jealous!" Maya could tell Riley was getting frustrated over this.

"Riley, I would never care of what Farkle thought, because we've been friends with him forever! What Farkle thinks versus what Lucas thinks is completely different. Lucas is the type to get overly protective over something or someone, whereas Farkle gets jealous from time to time, but he's mostly supportive over things! Plus, Lucas had never bothered asking me how a date went with someone _until_ Liam came into the picture!"

"I'm pretty sure Lucas only asked because he saw that you weren't a big fan of my surprise blind date, and you hadn't told me about it afterwards!" Riley raised her voice, causing Maya to wince at her tone. "I can't believe you would accuse _my_ boyfriend of being jealous, when he's in a happy relationship with me!"

"If he was really in a happy relationship with you, then why didn't he tell you he loved you after a year of dating until I practically forced him too, huh? Do you really think he's happy if he couldn't even man up to tell you how much he loves you?"

Riley went silent after that, tears brimming in her eyes. And that's when Maya knew she screwed up big time. She let more escape than she had meant to, and she's pretty sure all Hell had broken loose right after that. Maya stood up, not wanting to upset her best friend any further when she felt Riley's hand grab her wrist. Maya turned her head around, but Riley didn't look at her. She stared into her lap.

"I know you still like Lucas."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the super late (and short) chapter. I had a really bad writer's block and I didn't really know what I was going to write for this chapter (or the next few for that matter). I'm the type of author who just wants the ships to happen quickly and will spend no time trying to make that happen, but I want to try slowing the pace for this story. Which means dragging out the wait for Lucaya which I hate (Fun fact: this chapter was originally a Lucaya fight turning into a kiss, but I thought that was too fast so I scraped it).**

 **Don't worry though, the Lucaya will come eventually but until then, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

"I know you still like Lucas."

Maya's eyes grew big as saucers as she stared at the girl before her, who lifted her head with tears evident in her eyes. Maya could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and she sucked in her breath in shock, wondering how Riley came to this conclusion.

Maya withdrew her wrist from Riley's grasp, disbelief written across her face. All she could do was stare at her in amazement, her mouth hanging wide open, her cheeks tinted with a subtle red. A tear rolled down Riley's cheek as she stared at her quizzical best friend in confusion and frustration.

The blonde always thought that by keeping her secrets and feelings locked up in a safe, no one would ever be hurt. She would never hurt Riley or any of her other friends, because they didn't know her true feelings. They didn't know how she felt, and they would never find out. And that's how she wanted it to be.

She knew that breaking off the triangle might come back to bite her in the ass, but she knew that as long as Lucas and Riley were still in a relationship before they graduated from college, she would be safe. At least, she thought she would be; never thought it would come back to haunt her.

Maya knew it was wrong for her to have feelings for Riley's boyfriend, but how could you not fall for a guy like Lucas and expect everything to be okay if he swept someone else off their feet? He needed a princess, not a scum-of-the-earth like Maya was. She gave him to someone who would be there when she needed him the most, who would make him happy everyday, who would be the shoulder he cried on, and the person he shared all his jokes with.

That person was Riley, and deep down Maya always knew that she was going to lose to her. She didn't even know why she bothered fighting for two years if she knew she was going to lose in the end. Hope is for suckers after all, so why did Maya have so much hope?

"Well," the heartbroken child growled, and Maya has never anything so unlike Riley in a long time. "Is it true, yes or no?"

Maya wondered if now was a good time to lie about her feelings, or to actually tell the truth. She wish she could ponder more on this, but she had a very upset Riley to deal with right now, "Riley, if I still liked Lucas, why would I have gone on all these dates in the past?"

"That's such a stupid question," Riley spat, and Maya was taken aback by the girl's voice. Gosh, she never realized how much of a drama queen Riley really was, her face turning red of anger and her eyebrows frowning with her eyes. Didn't they just walk in like two seconds ago? How did it escalate to this point? "Anyone could go out with other people just to get over someone, Maya."

"Riles, it's been a year since the triangle. You guys have been dating for a year, and have I once tried to intervene with that?"

Riley raised an eyebrow, frowning still, "No, but-"

"But nothing. I have been completely fine with you and Lucas dating for a year, because I don't have feelings for him, and even if I did, I'd find someone else to fawn over because you liked Lucas first, and I don't want to take him away from you," Maya smiled at her best friend, wiping away a fallen tear from Riley with the back of her hand.

Riley sniffled, "So then why did you accuse him of being jealous? Why are you guys fighting if you really don't like him?"

Maya hesitated for a moment, before she frowned. Why was she really fighting with Lucas? She only was teasing him before, but then it turned into a full-blown, unnecessary argument. She knew she shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, after all he was getting in a good place with Riley and she didn't want to ruin that. But maybe she did, and she didn't notice it until now. Maybe she subconsciously wanted to sabotage his relationship with Riley.

Maybe that's why Riley is so upset.

Maya held Riley's hands in hers, and looked her dead in the eye. "Riley, I'm sorry I caused you so much pain. I'm sorry that you think the only reason we're fighting is because you think I still have feelings for him. I don't want to ruin your relationship with Lucas. I know you've loved him since seventh grade, and I know that it would be tough if we're fighting and you had to choose sides. And I don't want you to choose sides."

"Maya, I—"

"I know what you're going to say," Maya interrupted. "And as much as I want to believe that you'll choose my side, life doesn't work like that." She sighed as she stood up with Riley following suit. "I'll apologize to Lucas. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place."

"Thanks, Maya." Riley smiled, "I'm sorry that I yelled at you. And that I seem like a huge freak right now, so overprotective of her boyfriend. I know that you would never really try to make a move on Lucas."

Maya placed a hand on Riley's shoulder, "Honey, I knew you were a freak the first day I met you. This is your first boyfriend, of course you're going to be protective of him. Especially someone that looks like him, I mean, have you seen the other girls look at him like he's placed on the highest pedestal? It's creepy."

"I know, right? I literally have to place my hand in his just so they remember he's not single anymore." The girls laughed, and Maya was glad that their awkward situation was taken care of.

Opening the bedroom door, Maya walked out into the living room, all eyes turned to her and Riley. Maya walked over to Lucas who now stood tall and crossed his arms expecting some sarcastic remark from the shorter blonde.

"I'm sorry I called you jealous the other day, and that I was a complete bitch about it and wouldn't let it go," Maya sighed, running her fingers through her wavy blonde hair. "What I thought was all 'fun-and-games' to me was more like a ticket to 'breakup-ville' for you and Riles." She gave a soft smile.

Lucas returned the gesture, "I'm sorry for taking it so personally, Maya. I shouldn't have gotten so upset every time you brought it up."

"So, are we good, because if we're not…"

Lucas laughed, "We're good, Maya. You don't have to worry." He gave her a one-sided hug, and Maya enjoyed the gesture.

Zay took in the moment for a second, before he looked around the room, asking the unspoken question everyone was asking, "So, we're not going to hear fighting anytime soon, right? You guys are friends, we're all friends?"

Maya rolled her eyes and hit Zay's arm playfully, "Yeah, we're all friends. It was just a silly, stupid argument. That's all it was."

Farkle raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

Maya gave him an odd look, but before she could ask, Riley interrupted them. She clapped her hands once very loudly to grab a certain blonde's attention. "Farkle stop torturing the girl. She needs a clear head for her first date, and I need to help her choose the perfect outfit and make her look pretty."

Maya laughed, "Riley, I don't even know when I'm going on this date. I didn't think I would be going on a date with Liam so quickly."

Riley wrapped an arm around the shorter girl's shoulder. "Yeah, but you're my best friend and I want to be there for you when I see how awesome you look on your first date."

Maya smiled, "Oh, Riles. Of course I'm going to look awesome. I'm Maya."

Smackle joined them, "Ooh! I would also like to see how awesome Maya looks on her first date!"

Maya smiled, "Of course, Smackle. You're our other gal-pal, so you can see me dress in whatever frou-frou outfit Riley throws me in."

Zay raised his hand, "I would also like to see-"

"Not a chance."

* * *

The date was set for the following Saturday, which was today. To call Maya a nervous wreck was an understatement. Beads of sweat formed at the top of her forehead, her palms were sweaty, and she anxiously paced the floor of her bedroom, while Riley and Smackle's eyes followed her from one side of her room to the other.

Maya knew this was something dumb to be nervous about, but she couldn't help it. All the other dates that she had been on were casual flings that were dead by the end of the night. She never really went on a real date before, and she was really afraid of making the wrong impression. She couldn't even really ask her friends for help because they've only ever dated one person, so even they don't have much experience.

With the help of Riley's fashionable sense of style and Smackle's sense of professionalism, Maya was dress really nicely. She wore a sky blue blouse with ruffles surrounding the buttons, and a nice pair of white dress pants that were tight around the ankles, along with a nice pair of blue flats (Riley insisted that she wore heels, but after two steps Maya faceplanted into her rug).

Black eyeshadow complimented her features and gave her bright blue eyes a pop of color. Her rosy pink lips were painted a subtle red, and her cheeks were adorned with blush and highlights. Her hair was braided and tossed onto her right shoulder and was covered in small hair accessories like silver flowers and little gems.

"Maya, relax," a small smile grazed Riley's face, "You're going to ruin your makeup like that."

"Do you think this is a good idea? I don't know if this is a good idea. I mean, it's too soon to know for sure if I'm really going to like being with him, y' know? I mean, I'm pretty sure you two already found your soulmates, and everyone I've ever loved has walk out on me, and-"

"Maya, calm down." Riley stood up and placed her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "You love me right?" A nod, "Have I walked out on you?"

Maya sighed and shook her head. Riley smiled, "Then you'll be fine. Liam is a really nice guy, and I think you would seriously enjoy being with him. I promise."

Smackle agreed from the bed, "Yeah, and trust me, just because we've only had one boyfriend so far does _not_ mean that they're our soulmates. Trust me, I love Farkle and everything, but my real goal is to get Lu—" When she saw the unamused look Riley was giving her, she digressed. "Um, the point is that no one knows for certain how anything will turn out. We'll just have to wait and see."

"You're right, Smackle." Maya grinned, "I have nothing to worry about." Just then, the apartment bell rang and Maya's happy face turned into a look of fear. "I can't go! I just came down with a serious case of pneumonia!" She even starts coughing to act like it was true.

Riley rolled her eyes and pushed Maya out of the bedroom, Smackle following suit. "Stop being such a baby, and suck it up! You're going on this date and that's that!"

"Okay, okay geez. Don't ruin the blouse," Maya walked away from her friend and fixed her blouse. Smackle handed her matching sky blue purse, and Maya checks the contents. "Okay, phone, wallet, lip gloss, keys. Am I missing anything else?"

"Yeah, a condom." Riley laughed, while Maya frowned.

"Your boyfriend has plenty of those," Maya remarked and bit back her building laughter when she saw Riley's face pale as she opened her apartment door. It revealed Liam, dressed in a pair of slacks with suspenders, a short-sleeve light blue dress shirt, and a funny looking bowtie. He held a bouquet of white and red flowers in his hand.

"Ms. Hart, you're looking very sexy this evening," he smirked, handing her the bouquet.

Maya rolled her eyes at his remark, but accepted the flowers. "Wow, subtle much? You don't look so bad yourself, Patterson. Are you ever going to tell me where we're going?"

Riley looked between the two in shock, "Wait, you didn't tell her where you're going?"

"No, Riley, because it's better if it's a surprise," Liam said.

Maya put the flowers into a vase nearby, "I'll put some water in that later. I just want to get this date over with already."

"What's the rush, blondie?" Liam chuckled, "Don't you want to spend some time with your lovely date?"

"Hmm, I dunno. Seems like a lotta work." Maya shrugged, while Liam playfully pouted.

"Well, you two have fun on your date now. We'll be here when you get back." Smackle said, causing Maya to give her a questioning look. "You didn't think we would go straight home after you left, did you?"

"I didn't really _think_ …"

Riley laughed, "Oh, peaches, we're sleeping over so that we can hear all about your date tonight!" She started pushing the two out into the hallway, "Now, run along now, you guys don't want to be late for your date! You don't mind if we invite the boys over, do you?" Before Maya could argue, Riley grinned as she held the door. "Great! We won't trash your place, we promise! 'Kay, good luck, love you! Mwa!" And with that, Riley slammed the door shut and locked it.

Maya stared at her apartment door for a few moments before she turned to Liam. "Do I even want to ask?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Exiting the apartment building, Maya and Liam called an Uber driver to take them to their destination. While sitting in traffic, Liam decided to crack a bunch of jokes to take away from the nervousness and the awkward situation that Riley and Smackle had created earlier. Maya was relieved that things were somewhat back to normal. She laughed at almost every joke he told, and even told a few jokes and funny stories of her own.

Reaching their destination, Maya widened her eyes at the building that they stopped in front of. It was about 3 stories high, but you could tell it was very classy, formal, and very _expensive_. Maya, never having really experience what having more money was like until her mom married Shawn, was not really sure how Liam could afford the food at this restaurant.

The host who was standing behind his stand inside the restaurant, his nose pointed in the air, gave the two teens the once-over, before he scoffed and gave a malicious smirk, one end of his lip tugged slightly.

"I'm sorry," he said, and Maya was surprised that she didn't hear a French or British accent. "But this isn't McDonald's. You must have the wrong restaurant. Run along now."

Maya raised an eyebrow at his snootiness, whereas Liam remained neutral. "This is The Comet Tulip, is it not?"

"Yes, it is. Now what do you two hooligans want?"

"Hooligans?" Maya mouthed behind her date, shaking her head at the words the old geezer was using.

"My aunt is Carol Patterson. She's supposed to be having a formal gathering in the party room upstairs," Liam explained. "I received an invitation to go to her party." He handed the host the invitation as proof. "Now, can you please stop acting like a stuck-up asshole and let us through, because I'm pretty sure you only make about twelve dollars an hour, so you shouldn't have your nose so high up in the air."

Maya's eyes widened at the burn as she watched the host's face carefully. He was turning red in anger and embarrassment as he grumbled something under his breath and allowed the two to pass. Liam grabbed Maya's hand as he led her upstairs.

"Damn, Liam. You're lucky he didn't call security on us, otherwise our asses would've been on the street." Maya laughed, as he brought her up the stairs.

Liam shrugged, giving Maya a toothy grin. "Hey, he was being an ass. I didn't want to start any trouble, but he was asking for it."

"Also, the only reason you're taking me out on a date is so you have a plus one at some party? What, are you trying to impress someone or something?" Maya asked.

"No. Parties like these always require some sort of accompaniment for some reason, and I've wanted to go out with you for a while anyway, so it was a win-win." Liam scratched the back of his head.

"And your aunt threw it in some restaurant where the employees are jackasses who think they can act like the elite but can't even feed themselves?"

"Pretty much," it was at this point that Maya laughed. "What?"

"I guess I've just never been to enough fancy-schmancy restaurants to know how the people are." Maya giggled, before she realized something. "Wait, throwing a party here is like friggin expensive, isn't it? What the heck does your aunt do?"

"Oh, she's on the board for one of the major hospital chains here in New York," Liam scratched the side of his face uncertainly.

Maya raised an eyebrow, "She's on the board, huh? And what title does she hold?"

"She's a…chairman?" Liam laughed nervously, "Or chair _woman_ , I should say."

Maya's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Wait, what the hell? Chairwoman?! That's like…the top of the top! She's rich as hell! What do your parents do?"

"My mom is a doctor in one of those hospitals. And my dad is an executive chairman in the same…" Liam trailed off as his icy blue eyes met Maya's sky blue ones. Her jaw was dropped, and she looked like she just found a chest filled with gold or something.

"Y-you're rich! Holy shit, I'm actually on a date with a rich kid. Then again, I'm friends with Farkle and he's rich too but still, you're rich!" Maya was so shocked by this bit of news.

Liam cringed, "You're not going to view me differently because of that, are you?"

Maya tilted her head, "Based on how much money your family has?" She stopped walking, the party room only a few feet ahead. "What in the world would make you think that I would that?"

Liam shrugged, "Every girl I've gone out with—"

"…has only dated you for your money." Maya concluded, Liam nodding his head in embarrassment. "Well, you don't have to worry about that with me, Liam," she said sincerely. "I'd never go out with a guy for the amount of money that he has. Ever."

"Thanks, Maya. I never pegged you as the type to do that anyway," Liam said, a gorgeous smile resting on his face.

Maya sighed internally. How is it that she's pining after a guy who's already taken (by her best friend nonetheless), and yet there is this completely gorgeous and sexy guy right in front of her who would probably give her the whole world if she asked for it? She must've been pretty crazy.

She put her arm through his as he brought them towards the doors of the ballroom. There could've been at least 50 people there, and Maya has never felt more out of place. People sipped expensive champagne as classical music played in the background. They socialized in their expensive suits and dresses, eating their small portions of food.

There was a table filled with teenagers who were either on their phones or talking to their friends that sat next to them. They didn't seem as stuck up, but from the look of their clothes, Maya assumed that they were still spoiled.

Maya knew Liam could see her tensed expression, so he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. She saw an older woman walk up to them, her hair as dark as Liam's and she had a large smile on her face. When she stopped in front of them, Maya could practically smell her expensive Chanel perfume on her.

"Liam! So glad you could make it," she hugged him, and Maya could see his face reading "help me." She bit her lip just to keep herself from laughing. When Liam was released from the hug, the older woman looked at her, and the blonde could practically see her grin falter. "Who's this?"

"Aunt Carol, this is my date Maya Hart. Maya, this is my aunt Carol." Liam introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you," Maya plastered her fake smile.

Carol nodded, "Likewise." She then pulled Liam to the side, hoping that Maya didn't hear what she was going to say next. "I thought we discussed that you were going to bring Leslie Jenkins? We're supposed to be making a deal with her father's company, you know that…"

"And _I_ thought that we discussed that I wasn't going to do that, and that Timothy was? You know that I'm not interested in anything related to the company." Liam rolled his eyes at his aunt.

Meanwhile, Maya walked around the room, watching the elite socialize and such when she bumped into someone. Her blue eyes land on green and it takes her two seconds for it to click.

"L-Lucas?!"

Said cowboy stares back at Maya with wide-eyes as well. "Maya? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. I'm here with Liam. We're on our date. His…um, aunt is the chairwoman for a large hospital chain here in New York and she threw a huge party, and Liam had to bring a plus one." Maya looked at her shoes.

"And so for a first date he decided to bring you here?" Lucas almost looked annoyed at that, and Maya raised an eyebrow at his peculiar tone of voice.

"Yeah…but I don't mind. If I were the one choosing the date, it most likely would've been a cliché: dinner and a movie, or maybe go to the arcade and eat a pizza. Plus it's not like I knew we were going to be here. It was supposed to be a surprise." Maya explained, watching Lucas with curiosity.

"Yeah, some surprise," Lucas muttered under his breath.

Okay…?

"Uh, what are you doing here?" Maya directed the conversation towards him, "How do you know Carol Patterson?"

"I don't," Lucas answered rather quickly. "I'm my…father's plus one."

"Your father's plus one?" Maya knew the situation between Lucas and his father, and it wasn't something to be all hunky-dory about either. Their relationship wasn't quite like a loving one, and Lucas rarely ever talked about his father. "But I thought he lives in Texas?"

"He does," Lucas admitted. "But apparently his company in Texas had something to do with Carol Patterson's hospital chain here, and since my parents are separated, he didn't want to take my mom so I was forced to come here." Lucas shrugged, "So here I am."

Maya nodded in understanding, glancing back at Liam who was still conversing with his aunt. He didn't seem too happy, and the same could be said for his aunt. Maya turned back to Lucas who was watching her the entire time. "It's funny, though."

"What is?"

"Riley and Smackle are actually over at my house right now, and they were supposed to invite you boys to come over so that when I got back from my date, we would all talk about it and stuff. But she never mentioned anything about you having plans…"

Lucas rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "That's because I didn't tell her."

Maya's eyes widened in shock and her mouth hung open a little bit, "What the heck, Huckleberry?"

"If I had told Riley that I was going to be with my father tonight, she would've demanded that she come with or something, as if to protect me from my father, make us make-up, or something like that," Lucas sighed, running a finger through his dirty blonde hair. "I don't need her to worry about my relationship with my father. As long as he stays in Texas and I stay in New York, he is the farthest thing from my mind."

"But Sundance that still doesn't excuse the fact that you didn't tell her where you were. For all she knows, you could be cheating on her with Missy Bradford or something-" he cringed, "-or simply running laps at the park and she would still get upset and freak out." Maya said.

"You're right," Lucas said, "I'll just text her now so that she doesn't have to worry if she can't reach me."

"Maya," she heard Liam's voice as she turned around, "I'm going to run out for just a second. Something went wrong with the catering, and they want me to go out and do something. Do you want to come with?"

"Um…" Maya looked at the raven haired boy and then back at her best friend, "I think I'll just hang out with Lucas until you come back."

"Okay. I'm sorry to walk out on you like this, but duty calls." He gave her a quick peck on the forehead as a thanks and ran out the room, two other men following after him. Maya didn't notice it, but that happened, a scowl came across the cowboy's face in annoyance.

"Wow, not even two hours into the date and he already walked out on me," Maya laughed at her little joke when she noticed a redhead walking up behind Lucas. "Um, don't look now but there's a redhead coming behind you and she looks like she wants to eat you or something."

Lucas turned around, his almost angry look turned into a look of confusion when the redhead came finally got to him. Maya examined the ginger closely. She was actually gorgeous, with red curly locks falling behind her back. Her eyes were a grayish-blue and she had small but plump pink lips. She wore a silk purple strapless dress that fell just below her knees and gold pumps as well.

"Hi there," her voice was rich like chocolate, "I couldn't help but notice you from across the room-"

Maya snickered from behind Lucas, and the ginger raised her eyebrow at the blonde in irritation. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, but that is such a cliché line, I can't even. Are you even trying?" Maya laughed, causing some eyes to look at her in confusion.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, but you could at least try to not make it sound like such a cliché, ya know. Try to be original." Maya advised. She could feel her blood rising and her heart pounding out of her chest, but she chose to ignore it.

The redhead wasn't having it, "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"Maya Hart," Maya was starting to hate this girl's attitude. "And you are, what, a terrible flirt and bitchy?"

"Okay, who invited _you_ to this party, and why?" The terrible flirt asked.

"If you must know, I'm someone's date to the party, Liam Patterson? I believe you've heard of him, right? His aunt is the one who threw this party. And before you ask, no I am not going out with him because I want to be that type of girl who only dates people with money just because I don't have any. He asked me out, I said yes, and here we are."

"And yet, he's not with you," the bitch scoffed, a malicious smirk on her face. "Are you that terrible that he actually ditched you or something?"

"Actually, no. For your info, something went wrong with the catering and he went to see what the problem was. Now, who the heck are you and why are you such a stuck-up brat?"

"My name is Verity Peirce," Verity rolled her eyes at Maya. "My father is an executive chairman, as well as my mother." She turned her attention back to Lucas, her eye practically in the shape of hearts, "So anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, I was wondering if I could get to know you better, away from this blonde commoner."

"This 'blonde commoner' is his best friend," Maya folded her arms angrily, "And no he will not like to get to know you better because he has a fucking girlfriend, who happens to be my best friend by the way, so you better get your snotty ass out of our faces and get back to your lame corner of rich friends who have nothing better to do but bitch about each other." And with that, Maya grabbed Lucas' hand and pulled him away from Verity, who was seething in anger.

She dragged Lucas out into the hallway and into a dark corner where no one could see them. When she made sure that no one had followed them out, she sighed and slid down the wall in exasperation, her eyes closed. Lucas slid down next to her, a big goofy grin on his face as he stared at her. Maya opened one eye that looked straight at him and she closed it. She couldn't help but reciprocate his smile.

"What?"

"You totally lashed out on her," Lucas commented.

"Well, I wasn't going to stand there and let her flirt with you." Maya shrugged, her eyes fully opened as she stared at Lucas. God, even in an area with barely any light his green eyes still shone like stars. The golden specks in his eyes seemed even brighter too.

"I think you're jealous," Lucas smirked, and Maya scoffed.

"Jealous? Huckleberry, did you forget that we just got in a fight over jealousy less than a week ago?" Maya rolled her eyes at his ignorance, "I didn't think you had such a poor memory."

"I don't have such a poor memory, for your information." Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes as well. "And I was only joking, obviously."

"Yeah, okay," Maya laughed.

They sat there for a few moments in comfortable silence. Maya wondered when was the last time they did that without fighting or chatting about anything. Things have changed when Lucas started dating Riley, because whenever she was with one of them, the other would be right there. The intense moment in the classroom and the argument that they had a few days before were the only moments that Maya had Lucas to herself.

Maya just ran those last few words in her head and internally sighed, lowering her head. She can't have Lucas to herself. He has someone else that he loves. He didn't fight for her when she gave him up, because he had already loved Riley. Maybe he did like her too, but the fact that it was supposed to be him and Riley together as a couple must have made him come to a realization.

This had the blonde thinking: Why did Riley so desperately want Maya to go out with someone all of a sudden? She was fine being solo for almost a year. Sure, she dated here and there, but they were never serious enough and they usually lasted like a week or so before a mutual understanding was realized. But all of a sudden, Riley wants Maya to go out with someone instead of being her free single self?

Then Maya thought back to when Riley told her that Lucas hadn't said I love you a few weeks ago. Knowing Riley, there was definitely something she wasn't telling her when she said that. Maybe after the whole condom incident thing, she thought Lucas was only using her for sex? No, that's not it. Commitment issues?

Maybe Lucas was falling out of love?

Maya thought about that for a moment. They have been dating for a year, that's true. But they never really acted like a couple. They barely hold hands like they did at the start of their relationship, and they still act like they're back in seventh grade, with Riley gushing while Lucas just smiles at her (at least this interaction isn't as bad as before). Maya wonders if he really is starting to fall out of love with her best friend?

Wait…why is she so happy about that?

She looks at the other blonde next to her, who seems to either be taking a nap or resting his eyes. Her blue eyes goes from his face down to his hands, and she takes a sharp inhale of breath when she realizes that their fingers are still intertwined, and Lucas doesn't even seem to care. Maybe she shouldn't either.

After all, he doesn't belong to her.

* * *

 **AN: That Verity Pierce part is so cringy, but I kinda don't want to get rid of it because it gave me my Lucaya moment.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Date Night Part 2?**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Hey, Huckleberry?" Maya nudged the sleeping blonde next to her.

This "comfortable silence" that they were having ended up with Lucas sleeping for a good half-hour next to her, his head resting on the wall. And while Maya would've gladly joined, she was on the lookout for Liam and that Verity girl. Even though she disappeared from the party, she doubts anyone was looking for her. She wouldn't look for her either, to be honest.

"Lucas?" She poked his face, and he still didn't wake up. Man, he's a heavy sleeper. "Lucas, wake up." Still nothing.

Maya sighed in frustration. She needed to remove her hand from his…it was feeling all gross and sweaty. But at the same time it was nice to hold hands with someone, even though he was unconscious. She hasn't done this…at all, to be honest. Riley and Farkle hardly count because they don't have any romantic feelings for her. Then again, Lucas doesn't either.

She heard his phone buzzing for the fiftieth time already, and she was getting sick and tired of it. Luckily, his phone was close to her, so she uncomfortably reached over to pick up the phone with her free hand. She would remove her other hand from his, but she wanted to savor this moment for as long as it lasted.

Seeing the caller id, Maya picked up the phone, "Hey-o."

"… _Maya?"_

"Yep?"

" _Did I call the wrong number? I thought I called Lucas…"_

"Oh, you did." Maya smiled, even though she knew they couldn't see it.

" _Wait, what? I thought you were out with Liam! H-how are you out with Lucas?! He's_ my _boyfriend!"_

Maya rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Riles, come on, like I would actually go out with Ranger Rick while _you're_ going out with him. We just happen to be at the same place at the same time. I'm hanging out with him while I'm waiting for Liam to come back, it's a long story."

" _Oh,"_ she knew Riley was a lot more relieved now. _"So how come you picked up and he didn't?"_

"Oh, he fell asleep. Funny story, really. So there was this redhead, right? Total dude magnet. And she started flirting with Huckleberry, so I totally roasted the hoe and she got mad so we ran into a pretty dark hallway that has like a dead-end. It's a complete cliché, but it was so worth it. After like ten minutes though he fell asleep. You'd think I'd fall asleep first, but I'm looking out for Liam and that Verity bitch."

Maya heard complete silence from the other line. She figured Riley was trying to process it, as she could practically hear her open and close her mouth in shock. _"Okay…so, where are you guys anyway? Lucas didn't explain much in his text, just said he was out and about."_

"Some fancy-ass restaurant that Liam's rich aunt is throwing a party in. Lucas is here with…" Maya trailed off, unsure of what to say next. She didn't want to lie to Riley, but if she told her the truth, she totally would've started to worry and Maya hated it when Riley was worried.

"… _with?"_

"…w-with his mom," Maya nodded her head, trying to convince even herself. "His mom was invited here, and Lucas was her plus one. That's all."

" _Come on, Maya. You're totally lying to me. He's not with his mom."_

"Y-yeah he is, and I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth. Oh, look there's Liam gotta go bye!"

" _Wai-!"_

The blonde hung up and sighed, using her free hand to run her fingers through her hair. She stared at the handsome boy, watching him take in quiet breaths while he slept. Call her a creep, but she couldn't help it. His golden eyelashes almost grazed the tip of his cheeks, if there was such a thing. His mouth was partially open, and…

Maya was kind of mesmerized by his lips. Man, was Riley a lucky gal or what? His lips were the lightest shade of pink, and they looked super soft and perfectly shaped. They were ample and pretty darn appealing if you ask her. What she would do just to kiss those lips…

She must have been staring for a pretty long time that she didn't realize how close she was to him until she heard him groan. Surprised, the shortstack moved away from his face as far as possible, while Lucas woke up.

"Had a good nap, sleepyhead?" Maya asked.

Lucas gave a short gruff as he turned to face her, his lips in a pout as if he was a two year old that was awaken from his nap. Maya snickered.

"How long have we been here?" Lucas said groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"About half-an-hour," Maya looked at her nails, acting as though it wasn't a big deal.

"Wait, what? We've been here for that long?" Lucas grabbed his phone next to him as he checked the time. "Geez, I didn't think I was that tired…"

"Wanna talk about it?" Maya asked, secretly hoping that he would say yes.

"Nah, it's nothing. I was just really tired from all the homework I've been swamped with lately. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night either, because Riley tried facetiming me until 6 in the morning, and next thing I know we've both passed out in front of our phone screens," he laughed.

"Oh," Maya said awkwardly. "That's cool I guess. I wouldn't know the feeling because I haven't had a boyfriend for more than a few hours, according to myself and Riley."

Lucas furrowed his brows in confusion, "Come on, Maya don't put yourself down like that. You know that the only reason that you haven't had a serious boyfriend is because no one has… caught your attention yet. And now that Liam is here, maybe this will turn into something more."

Maya shrugged, "Yeah, but what if it doesn't? What if Liam and I don't end up together in the end? What if he's just like all the other guys I've been with; dated for a few hours and then break-up and act as though nothing ever happened?"

"There are plenty of fish in the sea, shortstack. You just haven't found the right one yet."

Maya pondered for a moment, and her eyes landed on their still interlocked fingers yet. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Lucas, wondering how he hasn't even noticed it yet. "Hop-along, how come you haven't let go of my hand yet?"

Lucas tilted his head, and then looked down at their hands and his face flushed red in an instant. "O-oh, must've gotten used to it, I guess. Sorry," he started to pull his hand away from hers, but she gripped his hand tighter, much to his shock. "Maya?"

"What if we were dating?" Maya just had to get it off her chest.

"W-w-what?!" His green eyes widened, "Wha…wha…what would make you say that?" Lucas rubbed the back of his head.

Maya groaned and let go of his hand, "Ugh, never mind. It was a stupid question in the first place. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, I want to know! What _if_ we were dating? H-how do you mean?" Lucas was stuttering, and Maya almost cringed at how ridiculous this situation was right now.

"Well, I've always wondered what would've happen if…you and I were in a relationship," Maya said slowly, and then raised her hands in defense as she saw Lucas about to say something, "And no, it's not like I still have feelings for you or anything, it's just a curious thought…"

"O-oh," Lucas blushed, looking away from the blonde. Maya raised an eyebrow at his odd reaction. Why would Lucas blush at the thought of her and him together? "Well, I mean...you would totally drive me crazy, especially with your stubborn self and rebellious acts. We're like complete opposites."

"But at the same time we're not," Maya argued. "Once upon a time, you were just like me; a complete badass. But now you're some huckleberry who follows the rules and stays out of trouble."

Lucas laughed, "Yeah, well, you've guys changed me, what can I say?"

Maya patted his leg and looked at the time on his watch. "Oh shit, we've been here for a while. We should probably get back to the party." They stood up and turned the corner.

Entering the room, the place was exactly like how it was before. The elite chatted as they sipped their rich drinks and ate their tiny portions. Liam was back, and was currently chatting a storm with one of the other teens. Maya tapped his shoulder and he turned around with a look of relief.

"Maya, where the hell were you? I came back and I thought you went to the bathroom, but you never came back! Then I asked everyone here where you were, but no one knew and then Damien started talking to me and-" He rambled worriedly.

Maya laughed, cutting him off. "God, you're such a worrywart. I'm fine. Some redhead over there looked like she was going to kill us, so I took off with Lucas."

Liam's eyes flickered to the other blonde teen and Maya couldn't help but notice there was an odd look in his eyes. But he looked back at her all too quickly, "You mean Verity?"

"Yeah, her. She's such a bitch. This is why I hate going to parties," Maya rolled her eyes.

"Well, the important thing is that you're safe and unscathed by Verity's fury," Liam smirked.

"I had Lucas to protect me, despite him falling asleep like the big baby he is," Maya glared at her cowboy friend, who only grinned sheepishly.

"You fell asleep?" Liam raised an eyebrow.

"I slept late," Lucas said point-blank, then turned to Maya. "I'm going to find my father. See you later?"

Before she could reply, someone came up to Liam and whispered in his ear. He gave them an odd look before he gave a sigh of frustration and looked at Maya sympathetically. "They need me again."

Maya gave a wide-eyed look before she frowned deeply, "Again? I thought you were a guest, not a worker. This party has been so lame!"

"Hey!" Lucas said, offended.

Maya looked at him with a sheepish smile and turned back to Liam, "Semi-lame. This was supposed to be our date-night."

Liam brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I know. Tell you what. As soon as I'm done, we share a dance and get the hell out of here. What do you say?"

Maya nodded, "Sure."

"Okay," Liam winked and sauntered off with the other guy. Maya stood there, rubbing her arm awkwardly, feeling alone all of a sudden. Lucas wasn't sure what to say to lighten the mood, but he grabbed her hand suddenly and started pulling her away from the spot. Maya blushed profusely as she felt the warmth of his hand once more.

"Where are we going?" She asked, as Lucas led them through the crowd.

He didn't reply and she didn't pry but soon they stopped in front of a large man who was about a few inches taller than Lucas. He had deep brown eyes and golden brown hair, and his mouth was practically a straight line. He was tight-lipped and his eyes were cold as was his facial expression, which he didn't exactly have. His chiseled jawline could break wood in half.

"Lucas." The odd man's voice was deep and unsettling, and Maya almost felt goosebumps run down her back, "Where have you been? You were supposed to stay by my side all night."

"I ran into a friend of mine from school," Lucas replied as Maya glanced at the younger boy's face and it almost scared her when she saw how serious he looked. Lucas rarely ever looks serious.

The elder man's eyes moved from Lucas to the shorter blonde, who gripped Lucas' hand tightly. She gulped as his hands glanced down at their interlocked fingers. She could feel her palms sweating, feeling as though she was being judged. Just who was this man and why did he have this affect on her?

"Sir, I'd like you to meet my friend, Maya Hart. Maya, this is my father," Lucas introduced them.

 _Oh._

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Friar," Maya said.

He ignored her as he continued to look at their interlocked hands, "Lucas Friar, I hope this is not your way of telling me that she's your girlfriend.

Lucas gave the man a confused look before Maya raised their hands in front of his face to show him what his father meant. Lucas' pupils dilated as he removed her hand from his grasp, "Oh, no sir. I already told you that my girlfriend was Riley Matthews, remember?"

Mr. Friar didn't show signs of recollection as he only said, "Ah, yes. The brunette you've told me a great deal about."

"You would really like Riley once you got to know her," Maya interjected. "Of course, when you first meet her she's obnoxious and very bubbly, but you'll see right pass that eventually and really start to enjoy her."

His father gave Maya the once-over before he raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. She quickly added, "...sir."

"Maya's an amazing artist, sir. You should see some of her artwork sometime. And she's an amazing singer too," Maya blushed at his compliments.

"C'mon, Lucas. You're embarrassing me."

"It's true, though. Your talents make up a huge part of you," he smiled and part of her heart melted.

"And who are you to Lucas exactly? Hopefully you don't distract him from his school work."

"Why would I distract him from his schoolwork?" Maya asked confused.

"A young girl showing that much cleavage is bound to distract any young teenage boy and steer him onto the wrong path," his father sneered, causing the two to look at him in shock.

"Father!"

Maya crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously, and she glared at the older man. "Why in the world would you even be staring at my chest?"

"I didn't mean to. It's just out there. That blouse you're wearing doesn't cover much. A young woman should learn how to conserve herself. But all the girls these days are nothing but sl-"

"Excuse me!" Maya shouted, and by doing so turned a few heads in the room. "How dare you define me by my appearance? You don't even know me!"

Mr. Friar's eyebrows furrowed, "I'm sorry, but how dare you speak to me like that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, _sir_. I didn't mean to offend you," Maya remarked sarcastically. Lucas' face was turning as pale as a ghost.

"Lucas, just who exactly have you been associating yourself with? These are the kind of friends you've been making at that school?" His father was disgusted with Maya's attitude, but she couldn't care less.

"I'll have you know that we're the best things that have ever happened to Lucas. It's no wonder we haven't met you, because I already hate you and I don't even know the first thing about you!"

Maya stormed away, causing a whole bunch of people to step out of her path as they saw her seething with anger. Her feet banged against the floor as she stepped out of the room, about to go downstairs. She heard quick footsteps from behind her and she didn't want to hear it from him.

"Whatever you're going to say, don't bother, Lucas."

"Actually, I'm not Lucas," a vaguely familiar female voice said.

Maya's head lifted as she turned around slowly to notice a saddened Verity instead of Lucas. "Verity?"

"Look," Verity stepped closer, "I kind of saw the whole thing. Guys like him suck. They think they know everything when they really don't. I know it's not my place to talk to you after what happened earlier, but know that it's not just you. No one can escape Mr. Friar's wrath, or anyone like him for that matter. That's just his character."

"Maya?" Lucas called out. Maya looked behind Verity to see her best friend look both ways before he spotted his blonde friend and started walking towards the two. Maya looked down, a frown on her face.

"I was thinking about me, and I haven't even realized this is what Lucas has to go through all the time," she whispered.

Verity stepped aside as Lucas came closer, Maya's head still hanging. He stood in front of her and lifted up her chin, forcing her to look into those beautiful green eyes of his. He let go of her chin and replaced it with a hug instead, which she accepted as she squeezed him closer.

"I'm so sorry," her voice was muffled by his suit. "I went off on him when I should've just kept my mouth shut. I'm such an idiot."

"Hey, you're not an idiot," he pulled her away from his body but his hands remained on her shoulder. "If anyone's sorry, it should be me. It was a mistake to try and introduce you to my father. You guys aren't ready for him, and I don't think I'll ever be ready to introduce the rest of the group to him. But it's certainly not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."

"You didn't do anything wrong either," Maya said softly.

Lucas nodded his head towards the direction of the party. "Come on, let's go back."

Maya nodded and as they walked towards the doors, she remembered Verity and turned around to thank the ginger for her kindness.

But she was already gone.

It was getting dark as the sun was setting. A few people had already left the party, but a majority still remained. A few couples were dancing to a slow-song on the dance floor, and others just watched or chatted the night away. The lights were dimmed to match the mood of the song.

Lucas took Maya's hand and led her towards the dance floor. She didn't argue or pull away. He put one arm around her waist and held her hand as she put one hand on his shoulder. _All of Me_ by John Legend played on the stereos, and Maya couldn't help but smile as they played one of her favorite songs.

They moved their feet in rhythm as the music continued on. Despite the fact that there were several people watching them, they both as though they were the only two in the room. Lucas twirled her around, and she giggled, which was music to his ears.

"You're quite the dancer, Huckleberry." Maya raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"You're not so bad yourself, Hart."

At this point both her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his hands were on her waist. Their bodies were pressed against each other, but it felt so right. Lucas didn't understand why it felt so right. He's dating Riley...right?

But it wasn't Riley in front of him. It was Maya.

Maya, the blonde beauty. The artist, the girl who would tease him nonstop. The girl who would do anything to protect her friends, the girl who puts Riley before herself, who puts _anyone_ before herself. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, her hair as golden as the sun...

Lucas didn't know what he was doing, but he was suddenly leaning close and Maya's eyes widened at the movement. But before she could say anything, his lips were pressed against hers. Her brain was trying to process what was happening, but the ecstasy of the kiss got to her as she kissed his soft lips...

She was kissing Lucas...she was kissing **LUCAS**!

Meanwhile, standing right in the crowd was a very angry Liam Patterson. His hand crushed the plastic cup he was holding. He drew away from the scene as he removed his phone from his pocket and looked through his contacts. His ice blue eyes gleamed evilly as he saw the name he was looking for.

 **Riley Matthews.**

* * *

 **AN: FINALLY THEY KISSED.**

 **But seriously, Liam wtf are you doing?!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Riley, Smackle, Farkle, and Zay were all hanging out in Maya's living room, much to Katy's surprise. They ordered a pizza and chatted about random things, such as school and the latest movies and TV episodes. Zay complained about how his recent date blew up in his face, when he found out the girl already had a boyfriend. Let's just say he almost got a black eye from that (although he made a joke that they wouldn't be able to tell the difference if he actually did get a black eye, if you know what he means).

Riley checked her phone every ten minutes for a text or a call from Lucas. It's been a while since she last called when Maya picked up, and she was getting kind of antsy. What no one knew was that she got into a very heated argument with Lucas the night previous during their facetime session, which ended with them passed out in front of their phone screens (don't ask why). She would never tell a soul though. After all, people always call her and Lucas the "ideal couple." The ideal couple wasn't supposed to argue, right?

Riley put her phone to the side and stared at the half-eaten pizza resting on her plate, deep in her thoughts. She didn't notice Smackle or Farkle call her name as they tried to engage her into the conversation, so she was rudely shaken back to reality by the girl genius instead, resulting in a face-plant on the floor.

"Owww..." Riley moaned, pushing herself off the floor, throwing a glare at Smackle.

"Sorry, about that Riley, but are you okay? You look upset," Smackle gave her friend a concerned look.

"Yeah, Riley, you've barely said a word all night. Is there something going on with you?" Farkle asked.

"Just a lot on my mind that's all," Riley shrugged giving a small smile. "I'm fine, really."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Riley gave them an odd look, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you just found out that Lucas went somewhere without telling you, and that Maya was the one who told you, not him, _and_ he's with someone that you suspect isn't his mother," Zay recapped. "I wouldn't be okay either, to be honest."

"Did something happen between you and Lucas?" Smackle asked.

"No, of course not. Lucas and I rarely have any problems," Riley laughed nervously.

Just then, her cellphone rang and she checked the caller id. "Liam? Why is he calling me when he's with Maya?" She picked up, "Hello?"

" _Hey, Riley. How are you this fine evening?"_

"Um...good, I guess. Liam, is something wrong?"

" _Why would you automatically assume that something is wrong?"_ Liam asked innocently.

"Um...because you're supposed to be out with Maya? Isn't she with you?"

" _Oh, no. She's with Lucas at the moment. They're dancing to a slow song, and they look quite comfortable with each other."_

Riley was silent for a few seconds, "Yeah...well, they _are_ friends..."

" _Perhaps even more from what it looks like to me..."_

Riley got up from the room, much to everyone's concern, and walked into Maya's bathroom. She locked the door and sat at the edge of the tub.

"W-what do you mean, even more?"

Liam hummed for a moment, leaving Riley anticipating more. _"Eh, I don't think I should tell you. At least, I shouldn't tell you over the phone. I know there are people with you, so I don't think now is a good time."_

Riley was getting a bit annoyed at his game, "Liam, just tell me now. What is going on between Maya and Lucas?"

She heard someone on the other end of the line, and heard Liam muffling something, probably covering his speakers so that she wouldn't hear what he's saying. _"Riley, I can't tell you now. But let's meet up tomorrow afternoon at the park, say one-ish?"_

Riley pondered for a moment, before she complied. "Okay."

" _Good,"_ Liam said. _"See you tomorrow."_

With that said he hung up, and Riley stared at her phone screen for a few seconds, staring at the lock screen with the picture of her and Maya, making goofy faces with cake on their faces. It was the day of Riley's seventeenth birthday, and Maya had threw her best friend's face in the cake as soon as Riley blew out the candles. Riley returned the favor, ruining the cake Topanga made, and getting yelled at.

But it was one of the best moments of Riley's life.

" _Maya, why did you throw my face into the cake?" Riley pouted, "I was looking forward to eating that!"_

 _Maya laughed at the brunette, "Riles, don't worry. The cake would only be for a short while, but our friendship would last forever. I can destroy the cake, but I would never in a million years destroy us. You can bet on that."  
_

 _Riley teared up at that, "Not even something that could change out lives forever?"_

 _Maya hugged her friend, "Not even that."_

 _Riley grinned, and carefully reached over the blonde, grabbing a handful of birthday cake. "Hey, Maya." The blonde pulled away, and was introduced to a face full of cake. Maya gasped and wiped some off her eyes. "Revenge."  
_

 _Maya gave a short laugh, before she grabbed another handful, Riley following her actions. "Oh, it is_ on _."_

" _NOT IN MY LIVING ROOM!"_

A drop of water fell on top of the phone, followed by another one. Riley felt her cheeks, surprised to find a river flowing from her eyes. She wiped her eyes dry, but sniffed and hiccuped. She couldn't help it. She covered her mouth, raising her teary eyes to the ceiling. She didn't know why she was crying. What was there to cry about?

Something was changing.

* * *

Maya abruptly stopped the kiss, her hands pressed against Lucas' chest as she hung her head in shame. "I can't do this, I'm sorry."

"Maya?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaving the dance floor and out of the room, much to everyone's confusion. She bumped into someone, and tumbled a bit, loosing her balance for a second. She looked up and noticed it was Liam with someone else, who raised an eyebrow at her clumsiness.

"Maya, is everything okay?"

Maya tried saying something, but the words came out strained and incoherent. Her beautiful bluebell eyes filled with tears and she just started shaking her head. She hiccuped, holding both hands over her mouth as she began to sob. Liam's eyes widened in shock, as he placed his hands on her wrists and starting shushing her. "Hey, hey, shh, it's okay. What happened?"

"I...can't..." Maya cried, shaking her head.

"Want me to take you home?"

Maya only managed a nod, and Liam kissed the top of her head, bringing her downstairs and heading out of the building. An Uber arrived in a matter of minutes, and he shuffled her inside and they took off.

All Maya could think about was how she betrayed Riley. She's been wanting this for the longest of time, and all she think about was Riley. She kissed her best friend's boyfriend. She kissed Lucas. It was a spur of the moment thing. He was there, looking at her like she was the only girl in the world and he kissed her, and she didn't stop him. She wanted him to kiss her. She's always wanted him to kiss her. It was probably the best kiss she's ever had in her life.

And she regrets it so much.

She regrets kissing one of the best things that's ever happened to her. She regrets betraying her best friend's trust. She regrets everything that led up to that moment. She regrets leaving Lucas after what just happened without saying goodbye. She regrets never getting over Lucas, and she regrets falling for him even more. Or does she? She's not even sure anymore.

She was supposed to be on a date with this amazing guy, and she was supposed to have such an amazing time. But everything went downhill so fast. All this drama in a few hours: Verity, Mr. Friar, the kiss. Maya's not sure how she handled all of that without breaking down sooner.

She rested her head on the window, staring out into the world. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell Riley. Maybe she shouldn't tell her? _Come on, Maya,_ she thought. _You know that isn't you._ She could never keep that big of a secret from Riley. Never in her entire life.

But how was she going to tell her? How was she ever going to face Riley and not burst out crying, knowing that she was ruining one of the best friendships that she's ever had? How was she going to face everyone and their judgmental stares and the shaking of their heads?

She felt the tears run down her face again, her eyes stinging from her previous crying. She knew the makeup on her face was probably ruined, but she didn't care. She was a mess whether she looked good or not. She sniffed and tried wiping the tears off with her sleeve. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she faced Liam, who gave her a small smile.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked.

Maya stared at him, and her lip started quivering again. She looked down at her hands, and gave a very shaky sigh. "I...I've done the worst thing ever. It's all my fault. Riley is going to hate me, I know she will."

"What are you talking about?"

Maya frowned, "I'm talking about how I kissed Lucas. I'm supposed to be on a date with you, and I kissed Lucas. How _stupid_ can I be? I've been watching those two since they started dating, and all I can think about is how envious of Riley I am. How she's dating Lucas Friar, the Huckleberry, the jock, the best kind of friend anyone could ask for. I wanted him for so long, but I gave him away because I was tired of waiting. I kissed him, and he's dating Riley, who means more to me than anything else in this entire world, and I...I..." Maya sobbed into her hands again. "I feel incredibly guilty!"

Liam hugged her, letting her cry in his arms. He ran his hands through her hair, telling her that it was going to be okay and that there was nothing to worry about. He was such a nice person, Maya thought. How could he possibly be this nice even after what she's just confessed?

Finally, Maya arrived home. She wiped away her tears and looked at herself in the mirror, cringing in disgust. "Oh, God." She sighed, "I look like shit."

The Uber driver looked into her car compartment and took out a bunch of makeup wipes. "Here, you can use my makeup wipes, sweetie."

Maya took them gratefully, "Thanks, miss. I really appreciate it."

After removing the makeup off her face, she reapplied her lip gloss and pinched her cheeks. She turned to Liam, waiting for his approval. "How do I look?"

"Gorgeous," he murmured, and Maya couldn't help but blush. "I'm telling you, Lucas made a big mistake letting you let go of that triangle like that. He should have chose you."

She didn't say anything as he led her out of the car and told the Uber driver to wait. He led her to the front of the building, waiting to see if she would let him take her upstairs. Maya shook her head, saying that she should go on up alone. Liam understood and kissed her cheek, saying goodbye and heading back into the car.

Maya entered the lobby, removing her phone from her purse. Her eyes widened at the massive amounts of texts and phone-calls that Lucas left her; 20 texts, 35 missed calls, and 20 voicemails. All of the texts and voicemails asked her where she was, where she ran off to, if she was still at the party, and that he was so sorry that he scared her and was a complete idiot. Maya felt the tears come back up again, but she shook her head and put on a brave face. She headed towards the elevator and went up to her floor. She entered the hallway and took out her keys, opening her apartment door. To her surprise, no one greeted her with open arms. In fact, Katy sat on the couch with the TV on, a wine glass in her hand and popcorn on her lap.

"Maya, darling, you're home!" She smiled as her daughter closed the door.

"Yeah," Maya was confused. "Where is everyone? Where's Riles and Smackle?"

"Riley wasn't feeling well, so Zay offered her a ride home. Smackle and Farkle left about ten minutes later. But enough of them, tell me how was your date?" She patted a seat next to her, putting the TV on mute.

Maya snorted as she took of her shoes and threw herself next to her mother, grabbing a handful of popcorn. "If by date, you mean being left about a hundred times, then I'd say it was pretty bad."

Katy put her wineglass down in shock, "What? Left? Why?"

Maya shrugged, "They needed Liam for a large amount of things today. We barely even got to hang out. We didn't even dance together. Lucas, however, kept me company all night."

"Lucas? As in Friar?"

"Yep. He was there with his father, and Riley didn't know about it because he didn't want her to worry. That seems nice and all, but it's still not a good enough excuse. Something tells me there's something else that he didn't want to tell me, something about him and Riley." Maya wiped her eyes, becoming a bit tired.

With the TV being the only light they had in the room at that moment, Katy saw Maya's red eyes as she wiped her eyes. Katy moved Maya's arm from her face and grabbed her face, looking into her eyes. "Maya? Have you been _crying_?"

Maya cringed at her mother's tone, "Is it that noticeable? I thought it would have been gone by now..."

"Oh my God, you were crying?! Baby girl, why didn't you tell me? Why were you crying? Was it because Liam had to work most of the night? Honey, it's not his fault-"

"That's...not why I was crying," Maya sighed. "I was crying because I betrayed Riley. I kissed Lucas."

Katy gasped softly, raising a hand to her mouth in astonishment. "What?"

"I...I don't know Mom. We were dancing, and the way he was looking at me made me feel so good about myself, and I couldn't help but stare back, and he leaned in and kissed me, and I didn't stop him. It was such an _amazing_ kiss and I almost didn't want him to stop. But then warning bells went off in my head, asking me if this is how I was going to betray Riley after I lied to her telling her I didn't like Lucas, and I p-panicked." Maya clenched her fist, "I'm such a...a...there are no words to call me."

"Oh babe," Katy gave Maya a hug, which she accepted guiltily. "You're not a horrible person. You got caught up in the moment. And Lucas is an incredible boy, it's hard not to fall for someone like him. It's not your fault, baby." She patted Maya's head, caressing her hair.

Maya felt the tears sting her eyes as she clung tight onto her mother's sleeves, "Then why...why do I feel so guilty?"

* * *

Lucas threw a baseball against his wall, lost in his thoughts as he sat on his bed. His usually bright green eyes barely had a glint in them. The only that reflected his eyes was the moonlight coming from his window. He could hear his mother turn off the TV and head for her bedroom, which was thankfully across the apartment.

He called Maya about a thousand times, but he didn't get a text or a callback, letting him know that she was okay. He only hoped that she was safe at home, tucked in her bed or something. All he could think about was how stupid he was. How dumb could a boy really be, kissing his girlfriend's best friend like that? Lucas didn't know what he was doing anymore.

He just knew he screwed up.

He saw the look of panic on Maya's face when she ran out of the room. He saw it when he went outside to look for her, he saw it when his father was scolding him for the fiftieth time that night. He saw it when he pressed on the call icon on his phone. Hell, he even sees it now.

Now all he could imagine is how devastated Riley was going to be.

There was going to be arguing, crying, screaming, throwing of things, so much chaos that Lucas will wish she just shot him dead or something. He deserved it. After all, he was the one who initiated the kiss between him and Maya. It was his fault, not hers

But then... _why_ did she kiss him back?

Lucas' brows furrowed at that. Why would she kiss him back? Maya has denied that she liked Lucas, and he believed her. But now he's not so sure. Maybe she was caught up in the moment like he was. He didn't mean to kiss Maya, but she was there, looking beautiful and elegant and...

Okay, maybe he did mean to kiss her. Can you blame him?

Lucas heard a knock on his window, and he looked. His eyes widened when he saw Riley standing out there, giving Lucas a small smile when their eyes made contact. A confused cowboy walked towards the window, opening it for his girlfriend. She stepped inside and sighed as the warmth from his room made contact with her skin. She didn't say anything as she sauntered towards Lucas in a flirtatious manner. He didn't back away but he wasn't sure about what was going on either.

Riley wrapped her arms around his neck, and he stiffly stood there, not really sure on what he should do next. He awkwardly placed his arms around her waist, and Riley smiled at him. Her eyes were half-lidded as she tried to accomplish a sultry and lustful look. Lucas gulped.

"I feel like we don't connect anymore, Lucas." Riley said, running a finger through his hair.

"R-Riles, we see each other like every day. W-we talk and-"

"Not talking, silly." Riley rolled her eyes, "I mean, we don't really act like a couple. Yeah, we say 'I love you' and stuff, and we hold hands, but...we never really...get intimate with each other."

"Intimate?! Riley, what are you talking about? We're juniors, but we are way too young to be thinking about stuff like that." He tried to push her off, but Riley held on tight. Damn, she was getting stronger.

"Lucas, the legal age for sex in New York is seventeen years, which we are. Well, I am...you're eighteen, but still. Is it so wrong to have sex with the one you love?"

"No, but I just...I just..." He didn't know what to say. He couldn't think of anything to say.

Riley smirked in defeat as she kissed his jawline, "See? There's nothing wrong with it. So what are you so worried about? There isn't...someone else, is there?"

Lucas hesitated, not knowing if this was the best time to tell Riley the truth. He was confused on his feelings for Riley and his feelings for Maya. Any guy would've asked what was wrong with him? Here's his girlfriend, kissing him and offering him the best thing a guy could ask for. But he didn't want it. He wanted something else—some _one_ else. At least, he thinks he wants someone else

But she wants another guy, and Lucas can't just break up with Riley.

"Lucas?" Riley looked at him, worry flooding her eyes. "There isn't someone else, right?"

Lucas only kissed her in reply. There can't be someone else.

There shouldn't be someone else.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The weekend seemed to have dragged on so long for Maya as she unhappily trudged to her locker that Monday morning. She threw her books into her locker, not caring about how loud she was as some students passed by her with odd looks on their faces. But when she gave them the death glare, they turned around and hurried out of there, not wanting to bother the beast.

"Someone doesn't seem so happy to be back," a certain boy commented.

"That obvious, huh?" Maya asked, slamming her locker shut to stare at Zay.

Zay shrugged, folding his arms as he stared at the blonde before him. "You're not the only one who's having a terrible Monday. I missed the bus this morning, and I didn't have time to eat breakfast. So I think school is the very last place I want to be right now."

Maya ran her hand through her uncombed mane, "You and me both."

Zay furrowed his brows as he examined Maya completely. "Damn, girl, looks like you got hit by a bus or something. Did you want to look like crap this morning or…?"

Maya scoffed and rolled her eyes at the doofus, "Gee, thanks. Nice to know that I have feelings no one seems to care about."

Zay grimaced, "I'm sorry. It's just that you don't look...as radiant as you usually do. You look...dull."

"Well, I want my life to seem as dull as possible, thank you very much. I can't take drama, and I think I've had enough of it already."

"Bad date, huh?"

"If you could even consider it a date. Liam was gone like ninety-five percent of the time, and he left me alone with Ranger Rick-"

Zay stopped her right there, "Woah, woah. Lucas was with you?"

"He was accompanying his dad for the night, so yeah, I guess he was with me."

"His dad's here?"

"Yeah?"

"Wonder why he didn't tell me…" Zay muttered.

"Maybe it's because his dad is a fucking asshole." Maya growled, "but that's none of my business."

"Sounds like you've met Mr. Friar then."

"I wish I hadn't."

Just then, Maya spotted Lucas walking down the hallway. She stiffened. She really didn't want to deal with him right now. She didn't want to speak to him or look at him. Everytime she does, she feels as though her heart's about to shatter into a million pieces. All she could see in her eyes was a heartbroken Riley who would find out that her best friend kissed her boyfriend. And Maya knew that it would crush Riley.

Lucas didn't seem to notice them as he stopped by his baseball friends and chatted up a storm. Maya sighed in relief, which caused Zay to raise an eyebrow at her odd behavior.

"I-I have to go," she said, picking her bag off the floor. "See ya."

Zay stared after her, his suspicion rising with each step she takes towards her classroom. "Yeah...see ya."

Meanwhile, she passed by Lucas and started to walk quickly, hoping to pass by unseen. Unfortunately she wasn't lucky because Lucas saw her out of the corner of his eye. He excused himself from his friends as he hurried to catch up with Maya. "Maya!" He shouted, but she continued to walk faster. "Maya, slow down! We need to talk!"

"Leave me alone, Lucas." Maya said, her small legs going faster than they were before.

"We have to talk about what happened, Maya." Lucas said, grabbing her arm and turning her around.

"There is nothing to talk about," Maya snapped, forcefully removing her wrist from his grasp.

"You can say that all you want, but you and I both know that there is something to talk about."

"No, there isn't." Maya's eyes narrowed, "You know why? Because it meant nothing, Lucas. Okay? That kiss meant nothing. So you can stop trying to shove it down my throat and shove it right up your-"

"Hey, Maya!" Riley interrupted and bounced towards her best friend, giving her a huge hug. "Tell me! How was it, how was your date?"

Maya wiggled herself out of Riley's grasp. "Um...not now, Riles. I have to get to class." She gave one last look to Lucas before she turned around and walked off. She knew that he knew that look meant, "we're done talking."

Riley gave a confused look as she watched her short blonde friend walk off. She turned to Lucas who had a frustrated look on his face, "What was that all about?"

Lucas shook his head and looked at Riley, who stared up at him with her big, chocolate eyes, "Maybe she just had a really bad weekend."

Riley looked back at the disappearing frame before her, "Are you sure?"

Lucas shrugged, "There's no other explanation for it, is there?" He kissed Riley's forehead. "I'm heading off now. I'll see you later, okay?"

Riley pulled him in for a kiss instead, much to his anxiousness. "Okay, Lukey. I'll miss you!"

Lucas laughed as he rolled his eyes at Riley's ridiculousness. He went off to class and Riley waited until he disappeared from her sight. Her smile dropped completely, and she headed off to her classroom, trying to collect her thoughts. Maya must have had a bad weekend because of the kiss, right? She entered the class and sat at her desk, taking out her books, So she obviously feels guilty about the whole thing. That's why she walked away so quickly. Because she feels really guilty about her kissing Lucas...my boyfriend.

Good.

She should.

* * *

Maya ignored Lucas all first period, and he didn't even bother turning around to speak to her or look at her. It was clear that something happened to them over the weekend, and while they don't know this, two others also know what went down that unfaithful Saturday night.

Riley, however, started to feel insecure. She knew she shouldn't have believed a word that came out of Maya's mouth when she said she didn't have feelings for Lucas. The looks the two give each other read love (or even lust) all over. But she knew that Lucas would never cheat on her, even if he may or may not have had the hots for Maya.

Who wouldn't have the hots for Maya? She was fucking gorgeous, with her blond locks tossed towards one side of her head. Her eyes were as blue as the sky, and she had the skin of a porcelain doll. The way she dressed told everyone to back off, but her personality was almost as sweet as Riley's, except with a sassy twist. Riley hated to admit it, but she was kind of jealous of her best friend. But she would never tell her that.

Riley hated what she was about to do. She didn't know what it was going to do with her relationship with Maya or Lucas, or even the rest of her friends if they found out the truth. But she had to do this. She had to protect her relationship with her boyfriend. She had to make sure Maya knew that Lucas was hers. She had to make sure Maya and Lucas didn't think of each other romantically again.

When she found Maya at her locker hanging out with Smackle during free period, she knew that this was her chance. She had to do this. It was now or never.

Liam came by and rested his arm against the locker next to Maya's, "Hey, Maya. Feeling better?"

Maya shrugged, "Still feel like crap, but I'm doing fine, I guess."

Smackle looked between the two in confusion, "You were not fine?"

Maya shook her head, "It's a long story. But I think I'll save that for another day."

Riley walked towards the trio, her face put into serious mode. "Maya, I need to talk to you."

Maya gulped and looked at Liam with wide eyes. All he did was shrug in return, and nodded his head towards the brunette. Maya followed Riley down the row of lockers. She wasn't too far from Smackle and Liam. Maybe it wasn't too serious?

"What's up, Riles?" She knew her voice sounded weird. Why did her voice sound weird? Was she really that nervous? How was she even sure that Riley knew about the kiss? Calm down Maya, it's not like you slept with the guy.

"We've been best friends forever. And I know that as your best friend, we always tell each other everything, no matter how serious it is, right?" Riley asked. Maya hesitated a bit, not sure if she should answer that question when she was literally hiding something from her best friend. However, Riley continued speaking, not even waiting for an answer. "Well, what I'm about to tell you may be...very serious…"

"Riles?"

"Peaches," she used Maya's nickname. "I...did it."

"Wow Riley, no need to be so blunt." A sarcastic Maya rolled her eyes at the usually bubbly girl and folded her arms, "Did what Riley?"

"I had sex with Lucas." Riley cringed.

Maya's eyes widened in shock. She felt her heart plummet into a dark abyss. Her thought process slowed down by a lot. Her mouth hung open. Her arms dropped to her sides. She felt her eyes sting. Why was she reacting like that? Maya, what are you doing? Why are you reacting like she just cheated on your boyfriend? It's her boyfriend; why are you doing this?

Riley didn't like this. Her eyes filled with tears, "Maya, please say something."

Maya blinked once. Then twice. "W-when did this happen?"

Riley rubbed her arm, "Saturday night. When he came back home from the thing with his dad."

Maya felt her whole world come crashing down. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Her head was throbbing; no doubt it was a headache coming. She backed away from Riley. One step. Two steps.

Now Riley was definitely crying, "Please, Maya. Please say something. Anything."

"I-I-I...I have to go." Maya turned around and walked away quickly. She passed Liam and Smackle, and they looked at her in confusion. Smackle called after Maya and even went to chase after her. Riley reached Liam and he looked at her, his expression remaining neutral.

"I hate m-myself for doing that," she cried, and Liam pulled her in for a hug. She buried her head into his chest, and he rubbed her back. "P-please, don't ever make me do that a-again. I couldn't bear t-to look at her."

This was all a part of Liam's revenge plan. He had to make sure that Maya knew who belonged to who. Even if the result was messy, she most definitely got the message now.

* * *

Maya cut the rest of her classes. She spent the remainder of her school day in the courtyard, her dull blue eyes staring into nothing but the street. It looked like it was going to pour, but Maya didn't care. She couldn't bear to bring herself back inside the building.

There were dry tear stains on her cheeks. Her eyes were red and they were kind of swollen. Her headache was full-force and it made her feel somewhat numb. Her phone was blowing up with texts and phone calls but she ignored them all. A water drop fell on her forehead. She looked up. More drops. Then a downpour. Well, that was fast.

Maya looked back at the courtyard. She brought her knees towards her chest and buried her head in between her legs. She knew she was going to get sick, but she couldn't care less. Maybe God was punishing her. Maybe this was punishment for liking her best friend's boyfriend. Punishment for kissing him, for wanting him to love her like he loved Riley. Who knows?

"Maya!" A voice shouted.

Maya looked up. Her eyes meet green. They looked worried. Her mouth was dry. She couldn't speak. Why couldn't she speak?

"Maya, it's raining! You're going to get sick!" Lucas walked towards her with an umbrella, but she held her hand up.

"Don't!" She snapped, her voice cracking. She slowly got up and cleared her throat. "Don't you fucking dare come near me! I don't want anything to do with you!"

"Maya, why the hell are you overreacting? It was just a kiss! Nothing more than a kiss! Are you seriously upset about that?"

"I don't know, you tell me! How did it feel when you had sex with Riley? I bet that felt good, huh?"

Lucas gave her the most bewildered look she's ever seen in her life. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that bull. I know you had sex with Riley. The second I leave you for kissing me, you go to your girlfriend to get some!"

"Maya, that's crazy-talk. First of all, Riley and I never had sex! She came over, yeah, but we didn't do anything! Second of all, are you jealous or something? Because last time I checked, you ended the triangle! You sent me to Riley; you wanted nothing to do with the triangle! You didn't want to be with me!"

Maya shook her head and backed away from him, "I know you're lying. Riley told me you had sex with her. Straight out of her mouth. So don't give me that bull. She would never lie to me."

"Why would she even say that when she knows it's not true?"

"I don't believe you, Lucas." Maya coughed, "I don't believe you."

"Maya, please, what's going on?" He pleaded with her, "Just tell me what's wrong."

"You idiot! Are you stupid? I like you, okay?! I've fallen for you! I never stopped liking you, and I don't know why I can't stop! Seeing you with Riley? It still HURTS!" Maya finally admitted, sobbing uncontrollably. "I-It hurts, because you didn't fight for me! You just went with her because I made you! You wouldn't make a decision, so I made it for the both of you! So please... just leave me alone." Maya turned on her heel and ran off.

Lucas stared after her, too stunned to move. Her words echoed in his head. Did she really mean it? Did she really like him? After all this time?

"Lucas?"

He turned around, and he saw Riley walking towards him with her own umbrella. "So...did you find Maya?"

Lucas didn't respond. Riley looked at him, her eyes searching his. "Lucas?"

"I…" He started, but then he shook his head. "I think she went home."

Riley sighed, "Great. Now I have to drop her stuff at her place. Come on, let's go over there. "

"No," Lucas said. "I think I'm going straight home."

Riley raised her eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulder, walking her back, "I'm sure."

They walked away, but Lucas turned his head around, hoping that a certain blonde would be coming back, or maybe what he just witnessed was just a dream. But she wasn't there. And it wasn't a dream.

This was a reality.


End file.
